Sengoku Gakuen
by Creature of the Grid
Summary: Sengoku Gakuen is fairly known all over Japan for accepting demon students; handsome demon and human boys, nonetheless. So it came as no surprise when Inuyasha found himself falling for his new roommate, right? But, is everything as it seems? Inukag
1. Yesterday is over

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.**_

_**Sengoku Gakuen**_

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold

two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain

the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to

see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make

them otherwise."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

* * *

_**Chapter I- Yesterday is over**_

"From now on you'll be known as Kai Higurashi and you'll be attending Sengoku Gakuen, understood?" The man spoke as he finished filling some papers needed for her new identity, while she kept drifting in and out of her thoughts, glancing around the room monotonously. The man, known as Kenji Higurashi, looked up from the papers and into her daughter's eyes. That girl always got distracted too easily.

"Yes, dad" she answered reluctantly, eyes now on her lap, hands constantly playing with the hem of her dark green shirt. "I just don't think this will work out..." she mumbled. All of this was too much, her grandpa was dead, her mom and brother left the country, all of them forced into hiding; all because of the Shikon no tama. If she went through with this plan, she wouldn't get to see her family for a long time; after all she was the one they were looking for.

_But maybe this was just what I needed –what I wanted. Wasn't I the one asking for more space a few months ago? Besides, this may help me grow up… a bit._

"You have to be careful, if they realize you're still alive they'll come after you and kill you Kagome. Don't draw attention to yourself, and try to suppress your miko powers as much as you can dear." He said, worry evident in his eyes. _They don´t need to find m__y tortured__ body like we did grandpa's… _Kagome nodded silently, still immersed in her thoughts. Being sixteen was supposed to be easy, surrounded by mundane high school drama, not on the run from a possible murderer looking for a shiny little pink ball. She sighed unconsciously.

There was a moment of silence as she thought about how much her life was going to change. Now that her grandpa was dead she was the only miko left in the family, as well as the one to protect the legacy, therefore, unanimously the guardian of the Shikon no tama. This 'sacrifice', as everyone seemed to call it, was for the greater good.

"So… will I be dressing like a boy forever?" Not that she was bothered by it, instead curiosity was killing her. Since she was a little girl Kagome had frequently wondered what it would be like to be a boy. She finally had the chance to find out, so this was evidently no sacrifice for her –just research. _Now that I've cut my hair, it will take a while for it to grow back, better make the best of it. Maybe I can finally get a job, experience the hectic teenage life, join the soccer tea-_

Her father sighed heavily; she was doing it again, day dreaming her life away. That girl had the attention spam of a perplexed fly. "I'm sorry for doing this to you Kagome, but it's the only way to keep you safe. You'll be able to see us again in a few months. Just wait till I figure out at least who they are."

_Only a few months..._

"It's ok, papa... I don't really mind that much." _I was getting bored with my life anyway._ Kagome smiled slightly. Her dad relaxed and smiled too, there was something about her smile that filled his heart with contentment –a generic trait from her mother no doubt. "Your things will be shipped to Sengoku once you have established yourself in a room, perhaps Monday evening." With that, he left all seriousness behind.

"Well, that being said, you'll be surrounded by boys for a few months so... don't get pregnant!" He said cheerfully, clapping his hands on his cheeks. "Your mom would be absolutely ecstatic, but I don't want grandchildren so soon." As scary and cold her dad might seem to the outside world, he was the best dad she could ever ask for. Always having his family as a top priority, as far as Kagome could remember her dad had always been there for her and her brother Souta. From the occasional nightmare during her childhood days to her middle school graduation – an event not many parents actually considered a real graduation-, even now, he was trying to make the situation less grim by joking around.

Kagome only laughed. "Sorry dad, that doesn't work on me. You know I'm not really all that competent in the arts of human interaction. Besides, I'll be there as a BOY in an ALL BOYS boarding school, unless some sexually deprived boy discovers I'm a girl, I'll be alright." She finished, grinning slightly at her father's pouting/ terrified face. How he managed to make that face was still a mystery to her.

"You're weird, did you know that?" he said still pouting "Any other daughter would've blushed, started babbling or at least gasped indignantly! You're no fun." He finished, ruffling her now short hair.

"I know. I've been told that on multiple occasions..." she said shrugging. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about murdering hormonal teenagers yet." Her dad smirked at that beautiful idea. "So Kai" he said using her new name "how about a game of pool, huh? I'll beat you this time!" he declared confidently as Kagome bluntly laughed "yeah, like you did the last twenty times? Quit kidding yourself papa, geometric visualization is my forte. Once you taught me how to play any chance you had vanished, you'll never win against me" she grinned as her dad wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leading her to the pool table with a silly smile on his face. "You just love to brag, don't you Kagome?"

Well, might as well enjoy the little time she had left with her family.

She smiled slightly… _At least they are gonna be safe now that I'm gone._

* * *

Three days later

There she was, standing in front of a five floor building, the words Sengoku Gakuen imprinted above the entrance gate, dressed as a boy. A boy who was about to live several months surrounded by demons and humans, all boys... Hormonal boys who could accidentally discover her little secret and blackmail her into doing horrible, dishonorable, and shameful things just to keep their mouths shut.

Great…

_Of course dad couldn't think of__ anything less cliché... Does he seriously think I'm gonna survive ONE day without someone finding out? This is the only solution, he says. You'll be safe, he says__... I'm having second thoughts about this__. _She thought dejectedly, as she kept glaring the impressive building.

Sengoku Gakuen was fairly known all over Japan for accepting demon students; it was one of the few schools that would mix demons and humans. Every morning, girls from Jidai Gakuen would wait by the dorm doors just to get a glimpse. Of course the reason why Sengoku Gakuen was so famous, in all truth, was because of its devilishly handsome students. Thus, the rabid fan girls eagerly surrounding the building... and so, on her first day Kagome Higurashi found herself being surrounded by crazy high school girls on a hormonal rush.

"Uhh, what the hell is this?" she asked to herself, her cousin Rin laughing besides her. A mixture of horror and amusement clear on Kagome's face. _Will I have to go through this every morning...?_

"Oh, don't worry. You'll be fine" she said with a wave. "They're always like this. It's, uh, a minor obsession. With a school filled with hot guys, who wouldn't?"

"Well, I wouldn't!" Kagome said in disbelief. She had always been a bit different. Never really in sync with society and her open-mindedness sometimes got her into trouble. Well, from this point on got him into trouble, now he was a boy. She should remember that... Anyway, she didn't regret being like that. Weird. Herself. There was nothing wrong with that.

"That's because you've always been weird." Rin shrugged as she pushed Kagome through the herd of fan girls and towards the gates. "Now hurry up or you'll be late for your fist day, right 'Kai'?" She started retreating to her own school as well, Jidai Gakuen "don't get yourself caught! Oh, and call me up every once in a while, now that we live so close we can hang out!" she called, turning to walk away.

"Right..." She said under her breath, hastily fixing her slightly wrinkled uniform. _Those girls really are dangerous, better stay on their good side._

After a few minutes wandering around, she bumped into a tall man. He had long silver hair, golden eyes and a crescent moon on his forehead. His eyes were fixed into a cold glare and judging by the lab coat Kagome assumed he was the school's doctor. "Oh, excuse me, I-I'm really sorry." She apologized, bowing slightly. "Uh, do you know where class 2-B is?" Said man only stared at him -… her! Damnit- for a few seconds and merely pointed upwards, not even bothering to stop his scrutiny. "Third floor, sixth door to the left" he stated, still staring at her intently. "Good luck... you're going to need it."

"Er- thanks..." As disturbed as Kagome was, she awkwardly thanked the stranger and ran as fast as she could to get away from him – and get to class.

_What a weird man, it felt as if he was seeing right through me. _That thought was accompanied by a shiver.

* * *

Class 2-B was the most uncontrollable group in all Sengoku Gakuen, having Koga Hibiki and Inuyasha Taisho in the same class meant utter chaos. They were always fighting; who was the fastest, who was the strongest, who was the best at anything they did. They were at constant war against each other. It wasn't as if they hated one another, they were just… very competitive.

"Guys!" a voice said. "I heard we're having a transfer student!"

Inuyasha groaned, and scowled at the window, sinking deeper into his desk. Today was turning out to be a bad day for him. Yes, it was one of _those_ Monday mornings when everyone seemed to be ecstatic but him. Fucking rainbows everywhere, and he was the one being followed by the grey cloud of doom. First he woke up late, again, earning a nice weekend detention. Not to mention that waking up late meant NO breakfast, thus, being extremely hungry until lunch time. Then, that creep Jakotsu kept pestering him about a fantastic hair product that "would make his silver locks shine like a halo around him". What. The. Hell? As if THAT wasn't enough, now he was –possibly- getting a roommate? His room was one of the only ones left with an empty bed, and knowing his luck... his short-lived period of blissful solitude was about to end.

"How unusual, to transfer in the middle of May? School started over a month ago." He heard someone else, retort. Probably that Hobo kid, he was always making unnecessary comments.

"Who cares?" another voice, more feminine this time said. "Oh, I hope he's cute! It's been a while since I've had some fresh meat" Oh great, Jakotsu was back full gay-mode.

"Shut the fuck up, Jakotsu. Damn, could you really be any more disturbing!" he snapped from the back of the class.

"Oh, you know you love me Inu-chan! You're just in denial right now." The boy winked, throwing him a kiss. His chair fell as 'Inu-chan' stood up abruptly. He growled, trying to control his anger. "It's Inuyasha! Stop calling me 'Inu-chan you fu-"

"What's the matter, woke up on the wrong side of the bed? Stop your whining mutt, they're almost here" A wolf demon with long black hair tied up in a ponytail sneered, not even looking back at was about to retort when the door opened and in came Myoga-sensei and the new student.

Inuyasha slowly sat back staring at the new boy as his nose twitched faintly. "Class, settle down. Yes, as you've been gossiping while I was gone, we have a new student. Please Higurashi-san, introduce yourself." There was something uncanny about that puny human. How could a guy have such a… sweet… smell? Inuyasha blinked awkwardly, now HE was being the weird one. He blocked those –disturbing- thoughts and focused his attention again on the human in front.

The guy had black hair, just above his shoulders, messy bangs falling freely on his face, almost covering his dark blue eyes. He was rather small to be a guy and his uniform was a bit too baggy. His eyes were distant as he kept playing with the hem of his jacket. "Hello, my name's Kai Higurashi. I come from Kyoto, nice to meet you... Uh, I hope we can get along." He finished mechanically with a bow, as if he'd practiced it a few dozen times. Everyone just kept their eyes fixed on the new student. In the mean time, Kagome gave a brief glance around the classroom, and frowned momentary. _Rin was right… most of the students __**are**__ disturbingly handsome.__ It kinda makes me feel self-conscious. _She thought fidgeting again with her jacket.

Koga, the wolf demon, was openly laughing now "He hasn't even hit puberty yet!" he said smugly, earning a few chuckles here and there. "Just look at him" he finished, still smirking and eyes dead on the new boy. Inuyasha's amber eyes narrowed, moving to were the guy was standing, watching his reaction: Nothing. What was up with this Kai dude? Was he even human? He didn't even look bothered by the looks he was getting. He just kept looking down uninterestingly, eyes fixed on the ground, blinking slowly as if this was absolutely normal.

"Shut up Hibiki, no one wants to listen to your annoying voice." Inuyasha snapped at the wolf demon, who just scowled back at him. The fact that they were at opposite ends of the classroom seldom proved to stop the constant bickering between the two boys.

"Oh, look! Inu-chan has finally stood up for someone, maybe there is still some hope for me!" Jakotsu cried happily, as a few guys around him laughed. Inuyasha merely pinched his nose, his forehead vein already on the verge of popping. _I can already feel a migraine coming… maybe that late wakeup call was a divine warning._He left a heavy sigh escape from his mouth, mentally counting to ten… and beyond.

"Keh, Koga's just annoying. That's all, so stop twisting my words." He grumbled from his seat, arms crossed over his chest and glaring at the window. This day was only getting worse. As this rate the tic on his left eyebrow would be permanent.

Kagome gave the dog eared guy a fleeting glance, trying to understand the motives behind his sudden outburst. "Well err- you can sit down now Higurashi-san. Let's see" Myoga-sensei started awkwardly. "There is a spot besides Inuyasha. Raise your hand boy." Inuyasha reluctantly raised his right hand. That damn annoying flee simply couldn't stop pestering him, he could almost see the teasing smirk on Myoga's face. There were two empty seats on the other side of the class but he had to **conveniently** pick the one besides him. _Great, just great.__ Could this day just get ANY better!_

Kagome took her seat by the window and absentmindedly began to take a few notes here and there; playing with her pen as she began to lose interest in the boring lecture Myoga-sensei was unsuccessful trying to give. To be honest she was feeling a little bit insecure, sitting in a room full of guys who seemed to hate him...her! Now she was confusing her own gender? She was a girl, a girl! She looked through her bangs briefly to the guy on her right, the one who had oh-so-subtly helped her. He seemed really annoyed, his face was set on a scowl and his hand was gripping the pen so hard it looked like it was about to break in half. All in all, He didn't look very happy...– in any case he seemed kinda constipated, if anybody cared to ask her opinion.

"Uh, are you Ok?" she whispered, as soon as Myoga-sensei asked a guy named Bankotsu to read the next paragraph. Inuyasha just looked at her sideways but other than that ignored her; now that the window was stolen from his staring domain he might as well keep his attention focused on Myoga. Oh, joy. "... Right." she said deciding to drop the topic.

She kept taking notes silently during the next few lessons until it was finally lunch time. She had skipped breakfast, but as starved as she was, she needed to find one of the guys in charge of the dorms. "Excuse me" she said to the guy sitting in front of her, seeing as the one besides her was shaking... in anger? He looked more constipated than anything else. Oh, she was drifting away from the subject. "Do you know where can I find someone in charge of the dormitories?" The boy turned around, and smiled. "Sure, you might wanna look for Miroku Houshi, he's the best one out of the three. He's in third year... uhh perhaps you can find him in the cafeteria. I'm Hojo by the way."

_Finally found someone nice enough..._

"Thanks, nice to meet you, by the way Hojo-san." She said, smiling politely at the brown haired boy as he left. She looked around the class and noticed it was already empty so she stood up and left to find that Miroku guy. It surely couldn't be that hard to find him.

Well, Sengoku Gakuen ended up being larger than she imagined. Twenty minutes had passed and still there was no trace of the guy. How hard could it be to find that pesky cafeteria! Kagome sighed to herself as she kept glancing at those unknown faces that kept walking past her.

After a few minutes wondering around she found herself on the ground floor, before two wooden doors with the word CAFETERIA carefully carved on them. _Finally…_ Just as she was about to grasp one of them, it flung open and a black haired guy bumped into her. He looked at her intrigued for a few seconds before shaking his head and helping her up. "I'm sorry, that was m-" He was interrupted by a gruff voice yelling "wait till I catch you, perverted monk! You ruined my lunch!" That voice sounded eerily familiar, was that the guy who sat beside her?

"Well" he began, smiling boyishly "that's my cue to leave" he said turning around and speed-walking away from the cafeteria. "Wa-wait!" Kagome cried as she tried to catch up with the rapidly vanishing guy "Do you by any chance happen to know someone named Miroku?" Said guy suddenly stopped running and turned around, grinning charmingly "That would be me, dorm chief and ladies man extraordinaire" As Kagome came closer, his eyebrows furrowed a little and there was a glint of recognition in his dark eyes. "Oh…"

"Now," he said, lowering his voice and taking a serious tone "do you mind telling me exactly what can I do for a lovely girl like you?"

Kagome's eyes widened considerably as her jaw dropped. _ No way, not even ONE day… H-how could he..?_

* * *

A/N: Well, I know there are a lot of stories like this, but I've had this idea for a few months now and well… I couldn't help myself. Maybe I'll get to entertain someone with this fic too, that would be nice XD, sooo… uh, if you have any comments, you know what to do.


	2. Is this normal?

A/N: ok, so chapter 2 is finally up! Thank you very much for the reviews, I never thought I'd get so many just for the first chapter. I hope I can keep you guys interested throughout the story. :D

Awsomness182 - You read my mind, XD although what I have planned is a bit different. Thanks for the review :)

Once again, thanks to Kilala, angel, MidnightFlame325, Light of Polaris, MoiraeReborn, Awsomness182 and everyone else who reads and/or added this story to their Story Alert/ Favorite Stories list. ^-^

* * *

"Life is part positive and part negative. Suppose you went to

hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little

happy high notes. Would you leave soon? Let me hear the rumble

of the bass, the crash of the cymbals and the minor keys."

- Jim Rohn

* * *

**Chapter 2 – ****Is this normal?**

"Wh-what are you ta-?"

"Oh please, I can recognize a girl's body with just one look."

There was a moment of awkward silence, in which Kagome was left gaping at him, trying to form a coherent thought, while Miroku stared at her smugly. This was his forte anyway.

Kagome glanced around nervously; there were still a few students here and there, but thankfully none within ear shot distance. Nevertheless, a little privacy wouldn't hurt. "Can we please discuss this somewhere else?" she asked, a little tentatively.

"Oh, right. Let's go to my office, shall we?" Miroku said, turning around and walking past her. Kagome simply followed him silently until the word 'office' registered in her distracted mind.

"Wait, you actually have an office?"

"Sure, where did you think we discuss dorm-related issues?" He commented casually, turning right and entering an isolated hallway._ Dorm-related issues…? What the hell… _She thought while giving him a skeptic look. Kagome glanced around and realized they were at a deserted corridor with only an old, battered door at the end of it, and a vaguely older vending machine nearby.

"Couldn't the other two chiefs come at any time?"

"No need to worry, both of them are out there probably terrorizing first year students; Hiten with his megalomaniac tendencies and Onigumo with his creepy looks, besides, they never come here during lunch." He said grinning slightly as he opened the door for her. Once they stepped inside, Kagome examined the room in all its splendor –or lack of it. There were three medium sized desks full of books and a few papers; a map of the dorm buildings, with red, blue or purple dots in most of the rooms was hanging from one of the walls, there was a window in other wall, the third one had a whiteboard full of chicken scratches here and there, most of them not even legible to the one who wrote them; and the last wall had bookshelves full of old yearbooks and tattered books. She frowned unconsciously at the thought of having to work in a place so cramped, but then seemed to remember the reason she was brought here.

"I guess I have some explaining to do, huh?" Kagome said uncomfortably, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her jacket.

"Yes, I believe so. I have a few questions you need to answer." He said, moving comfortably around the small room. _How can he move so freely? I can barely move!_

"First of all," he said, pausing dramatically "how did you hide your breasts?" he stopped and gasped dramatically "Please don't tell me you're flat as a board!" Kagome started to roll her eyes, but her peripheral vision caught something sitting innocently on the closest desk. "The method I use to conceal my humble B sized" – a drop of blood was slowing making its way out of Miroku's nose- "is none of your business, and… is that porn?" she asked him while discreetly glancing around, her eyebrow raised in amusement, his desk easily identifiable. _Figures… had to be caught by the biggest pervert. Oh god, I hope he's not some sexually deprived boy who would blackmail me into doing horrible, dishonorable, and shameful things just to keep his mouth shut. Please, let it be a harmless pervert. _

"Hm? Oh, no. That's merely research material." He told her cheerfully, not the least bit ashamed, still wiping blood out of his face.

"Right…" _A harmless pervert, a harmless pervert, a harmless pervert. _"Look, I can't tell you why I'm here, but I can assure you it's not for fun, or a bet whatsoever, so please don't tell anyone." She bowed deeply, almost creating a ninety degrees angle with her body, her hands tightly clenching her knees. Miroku seemed to scrutinize her deeply for a few seconds before speaking.

"You expect me to trust you, yet you don't give me any kind of explanation. Do you have any idea in what kinda position you leave me?" He looked at her intently until the corner of his mouth twitched.

"But I'll trust you, even though I'll have to keep an eye on you for a while, sooner or later you'll tell me everything. In the mean time, you can come to me if you need help anytime." He told her, smiling brightly at Kagome's own puzzled look. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. Now, on to business; you came looking for a room right? I'll pair you up with a friend of mine, he's a little temperamental, but you'll get along just fine…. Eventually." He told her as he opened a drawer and took a document. "Here, fill it and return it tomorrow, I'll show you where your room is after school." He said, giving her the paper.

"Don't think this is free, you'll have to do a little something for me." he said grinning deviously. _I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! I'll be forced into doing those horrible, dishonorable, and shameful things after all! _Alarm bells were starting to ring in her head. "What will I have to do?" She finally asked apprehension evident in her tone. She even had the childish urge to shut her eyes tightly, grimace and cross her fingers, as if the mere action would prevent those dreadful events from taking place.

"Oh, wouldn't you love to know." Miroku smiled at her, eyes dancing with amusement "Don't worry about that tiny meaningless detail. We'll discuss it over coffee tomorrow." he told her cheerfully, arm casually snaking its way over her shoulders to rest there amiably. "Now, did anybody give you a tour yet? No? Well, it my pleasure to show you around! Lunch is almost over so I'll be brief."

_This guy is so weird, he can be so nice__ and gregarious, and yet so cunning at the same time... _She thought, still being led by Miroku. "Oh by the way," he suddenly started, a pondering tone in his voice "you never did tell me your name" Kagome laugh awkwardly, how stupid, she never did introduced herself.

"You can call me Kai Higurashi, Miroku-sempai."

"Kai? That's a nice name, did you choose it?" he asked, while they left his office, walking past the decrepit vending machine from which Kagome acquired her humble lunch.

"Nope, my dad actually." She answered munching on a curry flavored chip _how disgusting_ she thought grimacing slightly at the after taste, while opening the green tea bottle and taking a big gulp_ should've gone with the lime flavored ones…_

_

* * *

_

The two lessons after lunch had quickly come and gone without much change. Everyone pretty much still ignored her, with the exception of that Hojo guy. She glanced sideways to Inuyasha; the guy hadn't stopped scowling all. Day. Long. It was a few minutes before the last class ended and most of the students seemed to be chatting amiably, soon the bell rang and most of the guys stormed out of the classroom. Inuyasha glanced briefly at her through the corner of his eye and left while Kagome unhurriedly made her way out of the room.

When she got to the door, she noticed Miroku already –impatiently- waiting for her. "You're late."

Kagome simply grumbled an unintelligent response as she walked past him. It had been a long day and she wasn't in the mood for chit-chat.

As they were nearing the school's entrance hall, a first year student intercepted them and turned to the dorm chief "Miroku-sempai, can I have a word with you? – in private." He added after glancing at Kagome.

"Sure, wait for me outside Kai, this will only take a minute or two." He said, turning to the boy after seeing Kagome's nod.

Just as she was walking out of the school she heard a commotion around the corner. Being her curious self, she couldn't help but find out what it was all about. As she got there, she found the dog-eared guy continuously hitting the head of a red haired boy, who tried –unsuccessfully- to break away from him.

"Ouch! Inuyasha 'stopit', I get it, I get it! I won't do it again." She heard the young boy cry. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed, making Inuyasha loose his hold on the guy's shirt. As soon as Inuyasha drop him, he skyrocketed out of the place not even looking back.

"I'm not done with you Shippo!" he yelled at the boy's back.

Kagome frowned, one thing she had always hated were bullies. "Why did you do that?" she asked, getting closer to him.

Inuyasha merely stare back at her defiantly. "Do what?"

"Hit that boy" She stated simply.

"I was just teaching him a lesson, evidently." He said rolling his eyes and glaring at her dryly.

"How? Using fear as a source of power?" she taunted, somehow knowing it would get to him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he said in a deadly tone, already growing irritated by this flimsy guy. What the hell was his problem?

"I'm saying you're just a coward, hiding behind violence. You just want to show everyone how powerful you are by picking on someone weaker." Kagome spoke to the hanyou boldly, not caring if she was about to get beaten to a bloody pulp. Inuyasha simply stared at her in disbelief, the vein on his forehead pulsing dangerously. He heard a few mutters here and there, lost in the small crowd of people that had by now started gathering around them.

"I'll show you who the coward is" he growled as he kept his usual scowl imprinted in his face. He didn't appreciate being embarrassed, especially in front of other demons. Inuyasha launched himself at her, throwing a punch but Kagome quickly ducked out of the way. Once again the hanyou send a round hose kick at her, Kagome barely blocking the blow with her right forearm. Even more irritated, he started throwing punches which she miraculously avoided. "Will you stop moving!" he snarled. _Ha! And letting you kill me? No way..._ Already panting she tried punching him a few times, but to no avail; having close to zero experience fighting left her basically avoiding as many hits as she could. Kagome gritted her teeth anxiously, _there is no way I'll get out of this mess in one piece! I just HAD to open my mouth. _

Soon her adrenaline began to fade and it was at that moment that she let her guard down stopping to regain her breath, thus, giving Inuyasha the chance to punch her right on the face making her hit the floor with a loud thud. As Kagome hastily moved to a sitting position, she noticed her lip was bleeding, but she didn't even flinch, she just kept staring at him defiantly, getting hit didn't mean she was going to back down. Inuyasha merely scowled at the boy sprawled on the floor, the guy was down with just a punch – and he hadn't even punched hit that hard. "Worthless human" he muttered angrily as the guy kept glaring back at him defiantly, a determined gleam in his eyes that Inuyasha did not missed. He hastily broke the eye contact and left.

_Damn__, that hurt... stupid jerk, I'll prove him wrong. _ She thought, frowning while distractedly trying to clean off the blood in her face. Miroku quickly ran to her side and crouched next to her. "Are you OK?" He asked anxiously, extending a hand to –carefully- help her up. "Yeah, he didn't really hit me that hard" She replied, rubbing the back of her neck while Miroku simply stared at her in disbelief. "Really, Higurashi. Not even five minutes and you got yourself in trouble. I can't leave you alone!"

Kagome just laughed "He, sorry, I didn't actually think that through…" she heard Miroku snort besides her "afraid so. You got lucky; he usually won't stop after just one punch." He commented chuckling lightly "Let's see if Taisho-sensei can treat that for you, his office is just around the corner."

* * *

"Please wait a few minutes, Sesshomaru-sama is finishing some paperwork." She heard the tiny green demon say irritably. Both teens entered the office and sat in two empty chairs by the door. Kagome looked at the silver haired man and frowned slightly. _Where have I seen him before? _Suddenly the man raised his head to stare at them and Kagome flinched.

It was the same man that had bumped into her this morning, he was wearing a black dress shirt and dark grey slacks under his lab coat. "Is he related to dog-ears?" Kagome asked Miroku quietly while she idly watched the silver haired man impassively fill some papers.

"Dog-ears?" Miroku repeated, barely suppressing a grin.

"Yeah… uhh, I kinda forgot his name." she said smiling uncomfortably, flinching at the painful feeling of her aching lip.

"You two already know each other?" Miroku asked her surprised.

"Yeah, we're in the same class. Ironically he seats beside me, but we haven't really talked yet. He kept either grunting every time I tried to start a conversation or fighting with that Koga guy, he's not really that sociable, is-?"

"If you would stop your meaningless chit-chat" Sesshomaru said coldly as he examined her lip and then turned to the green demon that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. "Jaken, go get me some bacitration ointment and some gauze to clean that wound."

"Right away, Sesshomaru-sama." The green demon said as he scurried out of sight once again, leaving the two teen blinking after him. A few seconds later he came back with the requested material and, after bowing politely to Sesshomaru, left. As soon as Jaken closed the door, Sesshomaru turned to her again, ointment in hand.

"What are you doing here? This is an all-boys school." He said while cleaning the wound and rubbing the ointment on it.

_Well… History certainly has a__n odd way to repeat itself._ Somehow this time Kagome wasn't as taken aback as the first time. She merely sighed and bowed her head slightly. "What gave it away?"

"I knew it from the moment I bumped into you this morning. The tone of your voice, the shape of your face, and the way you walk were useful indicators too." He said not even looking back at her. "Now, why have you come here? Tell me the truth, if there is any useful truth worth having that is. Don't make me call the principal."

_What now? What now? He's a teacher, I can't lie… What can I do?_

"No, please wait! I... The truth is…" she stopped there for a few seconds. Was she willing to risk her safety? _Doomed if I do, doomed if I don't… _From the corner of her eye she saw Miroku standing up. She sighed audibly, dropping her shoulders in defeat. "Wait, Miroku-sempai, please stay." Miroku turned, giving her a surprised look, but sat back down nevertheless. "You're helping me after all, it's the least I can do, since you trust my words before." There was no backing down now, although she was slightly baffled for not being as scared as she should have been.

"The truth is that my grandpa was murdered last week and my dad believes they are after" _the Shikon no tama _she thought, unconsciously playing with the chain wrapped loosely around her neck, securely out of sight "something I have so… Maybe my dad thought that being in a closed environment and disguised would somehow keep me safe, if only for a couple of months. I'm supposed to be keeping a low profile and leaving the country like the rest of my family will give rise to suspicion."

"Why didn't you go to the police then?" Sesshomaru asked, still studying her intently. She realized at that moment that Miroku was oddly silent and his gaze was fixed on the floor, eyebrows furrowed. His frown was gone as soon as he looked up again.

"Is not that simple Taisho-sensei, what I guard is something that must not be revealed to the world, especially entities full of power like the government. This is a delicate matter that, if not treated carefully, will get out of hand. So I'm asking… I'm begging you to please help me." She finished, bowing deeply again for the third time today.

* * *

When the door finally closed before them, Miroku and Kagome gave a sigh of relief in unison and started to make their way out of the school building. "Man I can't believe you got Taisho-sensei to keep his mouth shut!" Miroku exclaimed disbelievingly, still not over the shock of witnessing Sesshomaru Taisho willingly help someone else, especially not a human. "I mean, we all know that the Taisho Brothers suffer from emotional constipation, at least Inuyasha's bit more expressive but Taisho-sensei willing to actually help – and by helping I mean the mere action of keeping quiet- you? That's a whole new level. The world as we know it is coming to an end!"

Kagome grinned slightly; he sure was an eloquent guy.

"So, now we'll finally get to meet your new roommate Kai… although, I think you already know him" he said nonchalantly as they left the school building behind, deciding to take the long way, instead of simply going through the cafeteria_. Enjoy the scenery, he says. _Kagome scoffed inwardly _what he really wants is to get some attention from the few girls wandering close to the school gates._

"This way" he said, waving to some girls screaming 'Miroku-sama!', a content expression on his face as they neared a brick building. "That one there" he said pointing to a wooden construction nearby "is Hiten's dorm rooms, they're the south dormitories, we're the west ones, and Onigumo is in charge of the north ones. Those are on the other side of the cafeteria, which is the heart of the school complex. While we have a western style construction, they have a traditional Japanese structure." He said, entering the building and turning to the stairs. "Your room is in the second floor, by the way."

"Wait, wait" she said, suddenly remembering the morning chaos at the school gates "if the dorms are connected to the school by the cafeteria why does everyone take the long way?"

"Isn't it obvious? The girls from Jidai Gakuen are out there waiting for us, and we love the attention." He said smiling pleasantly. _Figures…_

She was still admiring the brick walls when she heard Miroku knock on a door she vaguely remember reading the number 210 on it. Not giving it much thought, she turned to marvel at the magnificent window at the end of the hall, just a door away from where they stood.

"What the hell Miroku! Of all the rooms you just HAD to pick mine?" at that exclamation she turned her head to the opened door and her eyes widened.

_No way… _

"Ara ara!" he exclaimed wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. "There is no need for another fight. Let's get along, shall we?" he said, a wicked grin engraved on his face. At that moment she realized something, Miroku had deliberately set this up.

Kagome simply frowned at him _Cunning traitor…_

_

* * *

_

A/N: so, I may not be able to update until next year. My dad has me working these two weeks from 7 to 7 -every day- so, not much time to write. Besides, I haven't really planned next chapter. I'll -hopefully- update within the first 2 weeks of January.

In the mean time, comments are welcome :) I'd love to read your opinions, suggestions, critiques, etc.

Creature of the Grid


	3. Ebony and Ivory

Hello people. So, new chapter, uhh… sorry for the long wait, had a bit of a writer's block. (still have it)

Thanks for the reviews, they surely made my day. :)

By the way Arekusandora, even though I've seen Ouran High School Host Club, I actually got the inspiration to write this watching a few Japanese and Korean dramas.

So, 19 pages. Sorry for the wait again, I hope it was worth it.

**Disclaimer: **Nope, my name is not Rumiko Takahashi…

*-*.*-*.*

"Sometimes we must get hurt in order to grow.

We must fall in order to know.

Sometimes our vision is clear

only after our eyes are washed away with tears."

-Unknown.

*-*.*-*.*

***Sengoku Gakuen***

**Chapter III****- Ebony and Ivory **

_So, here's __how my day has been so far: woke up late; got weekend detention, skipped breakfast, meet this annoying new guy, tried to beat some sense into Shippo's head, got into a fight with the __**annoying**__ new guy -_I barely even touched him!_, Miroku –Oh, how I loathe that asshole- got me a new roommate. __**The annoying new guy. **__Yes, if I'd know today was my turn to be the laughing stock of the universe, I would've stayed in bed all day…_

He moved back into the room, his little haven; now being sabotaged by that moronic boy. Was a little bit of privacy too much to ask for? He turned to look at Miroku.

_Apparently, yes._

"Really Miroku, Jakotsu's room is available too. Why couldn't you just placed him-" _I'm not an object you ass!_ Kagome though indignantly, glaring at him through her bangs "-there? I'm sure he would appreciate it."

"Inuyasha" he started, his face a mask of light annoyance. His hand moved to scratch the back of his head "Don't you remember what happened to his last roommate? He switched schools because Jakotsu molested him on a daily basis –day and night!-, the poor guy was traumatized. I can't do that to him now, can I?"

"I don't really care."

"Well, no." _What the hell? Where did that come from?_

Both heads turned to him and Miroku arched his eyebrows in amusement, his hand abruptly stopping the scratching motion.

"W-well, no **you can't now**" _nice saving!_ "I mean, uh, you placed" -_again with the placing _Kagome growled- "him in my room, now we'll never know what Jakotsu could've done. I'm a bit curious though." He mused examining the petite boy from head to toe. Surely 'that' wouldn't be classified as cute. _Even Jakotsu must have some sort of standards… I guess. _

"Oh, I'm sure you are." Miroku stated grinning wolfishly. Inuyasha, so lost in his musings, certainly didn't notice Miroku's suggestive grin.

Inuyasha scowled, still staring at the small boy, Miroku long forgotten, though Kagome did notice his expression and was doing her best to ignore the tingling sensation in the back of her head. She had a bad feeling about this. _When have I not when it includes this guy?_ She almost didn't catch sight of him retreating.

"Be nice to your new roommate Inuyasha! It would be awful if you had two weekend detentions in a row, wouldn't it?" he finished, waving cheerfully as he left.

"Keh" Now that the ass was gone he could resume his previous activities; meaning, he could go back to sleep. Maybe if he ignored that kid, he would leave him alone. Was being alone too much to ask?

His whole life dwelling over the fact that none of the kids wanted to play with him –being a hanyou and all-, he was usually left alone and he certainly had come to enjoy his loneliness.

Over time he had come to realize that maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

_But now…_

Kagome looked around for a few seconds. The room was big enough for the two of them to live comfortably together; there was even a bath room in one of the corners. _Do all rooms come with a personal bathroom? How can they afford that!_ She opened the white panel door and peeked inside. The little room was nice and comfortable, and the contrast of light colors made it seem larger than it actually was. There was a small shower, complete with tinted glass doors for extra privacy. _Nice… but I'll have to remember to lock the door, just in case._

She stepped out of the bathroom and kept inspecting the decent-sized room. The two beds were each adjacent to one of the bathroom's walls, so none of the residents were able to see one another when they slept. She absently noticed that the imaged formed a ninety degrees angle, with the bathroom as the intersection. The bed closest to the door had a red comforter with white pillow cases, while a glass door stood directly in front of the bed with a dark blue comforter; the one to her left when she exited the bathroom. There were also two desks facing each other by the window, close to the balcony, both equipped with a lamp and a small bookcase. The desk closer to the bed with the blue comforter was empty, while the other one was a complete mess. She turned to Inuyasha and found him staring at her, and surprisingly, she was not affected by the hostile gesture.

"So, which one's my bed, dog-ears?" Inuyasha's eyelids lowered _nope, won't go away if I igno- wait…_

"Wh-what did you just call me?" he might have been slow, but his ears were not just a 'cute' ornament.

"Dog-ears… uhh, for some reason I can't seem to remember your name" Kagome mentally smirked. Of course she remembered, Miroku had just used it. Inuyasha flared his nostrils, it hadn't been one day and the guy- "would you rather be called 'wan-chan'* then?" she asked him in a fake worried tone, now fully smirking, but stopped a fraction of a second later as her lip started to ache again.

Kagome smiled impishly _I never realized annoying people could be so entertaining. _Sure Souta was a fun target, but she always got in trouble after the tricky bastard rat her out.

"You're digging your own grave Higurashi" Inuyasha said, glaring at her darkly. It had been years since someone had successfully gotten on his nerves so much in just one day. What was it about this guy that drove him up the wall? Figures, it was only logical he would be paired off with the one person who got a reaction out of him – and in more than one way, nonetheless. _Might as well get used to this… _he thought, glaring at her through annoyed half lidded eyes. "And wipe that stupid smile off your face!" he added at the sight of the petite boy's mocking expression. She easily ignored him, her attention now in a tiny scratching she had been hearing for a few seconds now.

_It seems to be emanating from… there_ she thought, turning her head to the balcony glass door, obscured by the thick cream colored curtain. "Hey, what's that sound coming from the balcony?"

_Shit__. This guy's too nosy for his own good! _"Nothing, nothing. The balcony is off limits for you." He said moving into her way as Kagome tried to get closer to said door. "I said, off limits!" Well... if the menacing look wasn't a warning before, the growling was now.

"Ah, stop being so grumpy, chill dude! Turn that scowl upside down." Barely a second later Kagome winced. Ok… That sounded weird even in her head, she already regretted saying it as soon as it left her mouth. _That was so lame… I should really stick up with being the quiet, mysterious guy._

"Look 'dude'," he started, already tired of him "stop trying to act cool and get lost before I punch you again."

Kagome scoffed_ Not the nicest thing to say, especially at someone who's trying to ignore the fact that this is the guy who punched HER not even an hour ago…_ "Right, right. I'll go away now; I still have to get my stuff, anyway." She said waving her hand dismissively, already making her way across the room. She stopped just before closing the door, popping in her head. There was something bothering her and she simply had to let it out. "And by the way, I'm anything but worthless." She said, glaring at him. Inuyasha could almost feel the determination burning in the shorter boy's eyes. _Where the hell did that come from? When have I- oh, the fight. Well, he is worthless –and pathetic. _ Rolling his eyes, he plopped back into the bed trying to get some sleep before getting to that history report. Surely that guy wouldn´t bother him again, not at least for a few hours.

After five or ten minutes of –unsuccessfully- trying to get back to sleep, a thought slowly crept into his mind and he smirked slightly _So, this is how we're gonna play it, huh? _He turned around and stood up lazily, walking slowly to the door and locking it. _That will stop his nagging for a while._

*-*.*-*.*

_Well, might as well see __if my things are already here._ She thought, making her way out of the dorms and into the school building. After a few minutes of wandering around she came across the glass door of the main office. The place was neat and white, just as –mostly- everything else at Sengoku Gakuen. She opened the door and glanced around, noticing the middle age women behind the desk, swiftly typing on a computer. "Excuse me, I'm new here and I was wondering if my uh- stuff had arrived yet. My name is Kai Higu-"

"Higurashi, yes" she cut her, not even glancing away from the screen. "It's over there" she said, gesturing to a corner in between the desk and the wall.

"Right, thanks." Kagome took a few steps and found a few boxes and a suitcase placed messily in the far corner. Looking closely, she was able to discern her last name kanjis in the boxes and the name tag in the suitcase. She stood straight, hands resting on her hips and a thoughtful look on her face. _Well, there is no way I can carry all this in one trip- _Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar face. _Finally, some luck on my side _she thought smirking.

"H-hey wait!" Kagome cried as she hastily opened the glass door.

*-*.*-*.*

"Thanks for your help, Hojo." She said while carrying her suitcase and one of the boxes, Hojo carrying the other two. "I really appreciate it."

"Don't worry Higurashi; you're new so it must be pretty hard for you right now." Hojo smiled kindly at her. "I'm quite sure it's been a hectic afternoon."

"Huh, yeah, a little bit. My roommate is kinda… unbearable." Kagome commented light-heartedly, she didn't want to be perceived as a whiny guy after all.

Hojo chuckle lightly "I take it your roommate is Inuyasha, then."

"Yeah, what gave it away?" she asked perplexed.

"Well, there are only three rooms available in the west building; one being Jakotsu's, the next one is Takeshi's and I don't mean to be gossipy, but he's kind of, uhh, eccentric. He's never has a roommate and Miroku wants to keep it that way. That only leaves Inuyasha as an option."

"You don't like him?" It had come to her attention that Inuyasha barely spoke in class. The only two people she'd seen him interact with were Koga and Jakotsu, neither of them exactly friendly.

Hojo scratched the back of his neck "Well is not that I hate him," he trailed off, staring straight ahead "but he never seems to get my name right! It's always hobo this, hobo that, and it's sort of irritating." He looked at Kai, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Kagome hummed pensively "Maybe he's just not good with names" she said, not trying to defend him but to even things out. Just that.

"He was in my class last year too. He doesn't really talk much, but when he does is never nice, so I don't think these are memory issues." He stated as they entered the west dorms complex.

"Well, people unconsciously develop defense mechanisms to cope with reality and protect them against social sanctions. It's pretty amazing what that brain can do in those circumstances." She said, speaking more to herself than Hojo. _Besides, Inuyasha seems to fit into the passive-aggressive type..._

"Well" Hojo said after a brief pause "he's just a hanyou, anyway. You might be right" _that sounded offensive _Kagome though frowning.

There were a few seconds of silence until they arrived, Hojo handled the boxes and she placed them close to the door. "Good luck Higurashi."

"Thanks again Hojo" she said bowing her head politely as he walk away waving his hand. She then turned around and tried to open the door.

Locked.

_That__ mongrel dog!_

"Hey, dog-ears open the door!" she yelled while knocking loudly.

No response. "Come on, open the damned door!" _Oh, he's passive-aggressive alright. And to think I was trying to justify his behavior! _

She used her last resort, whining."Hey! Open up! Dog-ea-, uhh, I mean, Inuyasha, this is not funny! Please!"

"Get lost!" was the only retort she received. It came in a slightly mocking tone, so she was sure the bastard on the other side of the door was smirking.

Kagome slammed her head against the door and sighed deeply. She'd have to leave her stuff here while she looked for Miroku, he'd certainly have an extra key. She turned around and leaned against the door, letting herself fall until she hit the floor, resting her forearms on her flexed knees.

_Damn… I really__ need that key._ She thought staring at her luggage. Would it be safe if she left it there for a while? Kagome rolled her eyes, exhaling through her mouth and blowing her bangs distractedly.

_One more time,_she told herself,_ I'll try one more time before giving up._

*-*.*-*.*

It was already dinner time when she decided to just give up and show her face in the cafeteria, maybe Miroku would be there and she could finally get that damned key."Hey Kai!" Bingo. She turned her head and found Miroku and a little red-haired boy sitting a few tables away from him. "How is it going?" he asked her conversationally.

"Horrible. This day never ends." She grunted, plopping onto a chair and letting her head fall on the table. "Your friend is being an ass."

"As always." He commented waving his hand dismissively "don't take him too seriously, he's all bark and no bite…well most of the time."

"Oh, by the way" he said looking from the boy sitting next to him, to Kai, sitting across the table "Kai, this little guy here is Shippo; Shippo, this is Kai." The redhead waved cheerfully to her as Miroku introduced them.

"Hi, you're the guy who got beat up because of me right?" Shippo said, eyes glued to her wounded lip. Kagome gaped, trying to come up with an intelligent remark, anything at all.

"Uhh, I guess, yeah… " she ended up saying awkwardly. That was a weird introduction. She shook her head lightly and decided to change the subject. "As I was saying; your friend is an ass."

Miroku sighed, "What did he do this time?"

"He locked me out of the room!" she cried indignantly.

"Sorry, he's just being possessive over his territory, you know dogs." He said shrugging nonchalantly. _This is just a big game to him _Kagome thought angrily.

"And what about what that dog did to him?" she exclaimed changing the subject while pointing at Shippo, forgetting at the time that pointing was considered rude gesture.

"Oh, that's pretty normal; Shippo does something stupid, Inuyasha tries to beat some sense into him."

"You mean I got this" she said pointing to her lip in astonishment "for nothing?" she asked while both boys nodded meekly. It was her fault for jumping to conclusions.

"Pretty much, yeah."

_That's __it; I need to get away from here _"I need that key now." She said in a deadly tone, staring at Shippo's noodles from the corner of her eye _Now that I thing about it, I AM hungry_ she thought as her stomach chose that moment to growl_… I'll have to come back._

"Here" Miroku said, sliding the extra key across the table, none in the least bit affected by her hostile behavior. _Being so close to Inuyasha must do that to you._

"You had it with you all this time?" she asked as Miroku shrugged. He had been so amused by Inuyasha's odd behavior that he'd completely forgotten all about the key until she mentioned it.

Kagome growled exasperatedly "Why didn't you- agh, never mind, I'll be back in ten minutes." She muttered as she quickly left. Shippo just turned to Miroku, noodles hanging from his mouth "You don't think Inuyasha is gonna drive him away, do you? He seems kinda cool."

Miroku, who barely understood, just shook his head. "I don't know Shippo, Inuyasha can be hard to handle… that's up to Kai."

"Hmm" he muttered staring at his unfinished cup of noodles it felt nice to know that someone had stood up for him._ It was kinda cool what Kai did back there, to stand up for someone you don't even know… especially after getting his ass kicked._

Fifteen minutes later Kai appeared panting slightly "I'm back" Shippo heard him mutter out of breath, but he was more interested in the mountain of food the guy was holding. "Are you gonna eat all that?" he asked disbelievingly, his eyes moving form Kai's food to his face, and then to the food back again.

"Yeah, I didn't have breakfast, and for lunch I had some disgusting chips I'll never eat again, so yeah; I'm hungry." Kagome told him defensively, taking a spoonful of miso soup. She had at least two full plates, the miso soup, a bottle of green tea, and a bowl of ramen. It was a little bit over the top, but she was hungry –and in a bad mood.

*-*.*-*.*

_Ugh, __I shouldn't have eaten so much…_

It was really quiet, and dark, but she kept running. It was a little past nine and the school seemed deserted. Everyone was either still in the cafeteria, the recreational room or already in their room; at least it seemed that way from the soccer field. Kagome found herself running laps around the field; if she wanted to survive here, she realized she had to improve her once sedentary body.

Well, at least her day was finally over. She took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, slightly relaxing her body as she kept running. She turned her head to the right, noticing an oddly tall tree, she frowned and slowed down a little, staring at the tree intently; it looked remarkably similar to the Goshinboku. She stopped for a few minutes to carefully observe it, unconsciously remembering the one in the old shrine that used to be her home. She smiled slightly, maybe this was _the_ tree.

For a while, she stood in silence, taking in the peaceful aura of the tree yet, she could not help but feel an oppressive loneliness in her chest, where was it coming from?

She could almost hear her grandpa's voice as once again she started jogging around the field mechanically.

"_This, Kagome-chan, is the Goshinboku, the Sacred Tree." He told the little girl sitting on his left leg, while baby Souta was occupying his right. "It is said that this tree's been standing for centuries, perhaps thousands of years. The legend states that a young man, not human, but not demon either was pinned to the tree by the woman he loved, can you believe it?"_

_Kagome shook her head "why?"_

"_Well, because he showed her his true form, he was a half demon and she was terrified, so she stabbed him through his chest with a stick, pinning him to the tree in the process." He explained. "No, there was no blood" he quickly added when she opened her mouth._

_Kagome frowned a little __"Why did she do it 'grampa', was he too ugly? No no, wait, I know" she said slamming her little fist against her open palm, sudden realization clear in her face. "She was scared 'cuz he was different, right?" her grandpa smiled, barely six years old and she was such a clever child._

"_That's right Kagome-chan. You see, he was different because his dad was a full demon, a demon lord nonetheless, and his mom was a human. He was __accepted by neither demons nor humans, so he had no choice but to run away and hide. When his older brother, a full-fledged demon, killed his younger brother, a mere human, he decided it was time to disappear, so he disguised himself as a human and then he fell in love with that girl." Both stayed in silence, contemplating the tree, both of the engrossed in their own thoughts. _

"_It is said that his soul was sealed within the tree. You know, I hear it has a twin tree in Tokyo with a very similar story." He told her conversationally after a while._

"_He must be lonely, maybe I'll have the opportunity to visit him someday." she told him smiling, her eyes still on the tree. "You know 'grampa', I find this story much more enlightening than the Shikon no tama, that's for sure."_

_He chucked "E__nlightening? When did you learn that word, Kagome-chan?"_

_Kagome just grinned cheerfully "I was playing with the dictionary a few days ago, and I liked that word… so I was dying to use it."_

_This had become, over the years, her favorite story__._

Kagome scoffed, now running laps around the soccer field faster. There was no use living in the past. There was no way to bring back the dead. Not the guy pinned to the tree, not her grandpa._ Life goes on._ Her eyes watered briefly, but she did not cry. Sure, she missed him, but _not_ since he had passed away, not a single tear. She was not ready yet.

She just kept running until her feet ached, the strain of her body momentarily overcoming her internal turmoil.

She never noticed the movement of the curtains in her bedroom.

*-*.*-*.*

"_Kagome-chan, can you give me a hand?"she heard her grandpa yell from the small room__ in which they kept most of the antique objects. Seven year old Souta was mirthfully running around after a soccer ball close by as her twelve year own self watched him smiling pleasantly. _

"_Sure grandpa" she replied grinning. "What can I do?" _

"_Do you remember what I taught you before, how to purify objects?"__He asked her, a gentle smile on his face. Kagome had always been his favorite granddaughter, as well as the only one who inherited his spiritual powers, so they spent a lot of time together. He had taught her everything he knew by the time she as fifteen, that girl had always surprised him with how easy she got the hang of it. Souta usually watched them train and encouraged his big sister as her personal cheerleader, seeing as their parents were constantly fighting at that time, so he preferred to stay by Kagome's side._

"_Yeah, that was fun." she said grinning hopefully "Do I get to do it again?"_

"_Yes Kagome-chan" Her grandpa grinned "there is this mask up there that has been emanating a dark aura, so I thought I would be best to purify it before anything happens. Now, I'm too old to get up there, so I'll help you with the ladder." He said, giving her an encouraging pat on the shoulder._

"_Ok, gramps" Kagome said grinning confidently "ju-just don't let go of the ladder" she added silently. As soon as she was on top, she found the corrupted mask and concentrated her power on her hands easily purifying it. "See gramps? This is too easy, now I'm gonna need bigger challenges." She joked as she descended, jumping to the floor when she was close enough._

"_Gramps?" she asked again, not hearing a reply._

_Suddenly she was not twelve anymore__, she realized that as she stare at her reflection in an old silver plate, as well as a barely recognizable face behind her, she turned around quickly and gasped. A silent scream frozen on her face._

_His eyes, lifelessly staring back at her; he was dead, she realized promptly. Just like she had found him in his room not too long ago. Was this a dream? She certainly hadn't been so scared before, so why was she terrified now? Why was her heart beating so intensely she felt it was about to burst out of her chest? Why did it hurt so much now?_

_Just as she was about to scream and turn away he grabbed her hand and her breathing quicken; she didn't want to see his face again, but he was gripping her wrist so tight, and she couldn't just close her eyes. No, she'd seen hundreds of movies in which people died because of that minor detail._

"_They are coming after you Kagome-chan, sooner than you think." She heard him croak, before turning into dust. _

_*-*.*-*.*_

She woke up gasping in the middle of the night, the dream still fresh in her mind. Kagome, still not fully conscious, stretched her arm, trying to grab at something "Grandpa" she muttered, her voice hoarse due to the knot she felt in her throat. It took her several minutes to realize that she was awake. _It was just a dream, just a dream… _she tried to soothe herself, but everything just came tumbling down at that moment. Her grandpa's murder, the Shikon no tama, her family leaving the country, transferring schools, the fight with Inuyasha, the loneliness. She was running from a possible murderer. This was not a picnic, she had to focus on protecting that stupid pink marble, _she_ was not here to make friends after all.

Her breathe quickened. Her heartbeat rose, and Kagome noticed her hand were shaking.

It was absolutely ridiculous. All the walls she had so meticulously built to keep her sane and safe had just crumbled down with just what, a dream? How could a mere dream trigger this reaction? This was crazy; it was as if that mere dream had brought back the awareness of a truth she had been trying to ignore all along. Did that thought even made sense? She didn't care, all she wanted was for this weird feeling to just go away. To go back into that door she had closed long before all of this took place. She needed to get back into her self-created shelter.

She could already feel her eyes moistening "I can't do this, I can't do this" she kept repeating to herself, hugging her arms tightly, sobbing soundlessly as her heart clenched, pounding loudly in her ears. She tried her best to even her respiration, it had been a while since she'd had a panic attack.

Her emotions were now lost beyond control, she –she just needed to calm down. _Scratch what I said before… _she thought giving up and finally letting the tears fall, biting her lip to prevent her from crying out loud.

Unconsciously she hoped Inuyasha wouldn't happen to be awake right now, his side of the room was far too quiet.

Sadly she wasn't counting on her roommate's keen sense of smell and hearing, who after that little display couldn't go back to sleep. Now he felt kind of guilty. Had it been his fault? Maybe he should've cut the guy some slack, if had been his first day after all. A fight was never a good first memory… now the poor guy was sobbing shamelessly, and he was the one to blame. Inuyasha's eyes searched the ceiling desperately, as if the answer was written there.

Surely being nicer wouldn't hurt anyone.

Yes, just an infinitesimal bit nicer. Nobody would notice but him. His nose twitched at the same time than his eyebrows did. _Damn his smell_ he thought scowling while turning around to face the wall, trying desperately to go back to sleep. Certainly this was just a phase, he was an inu hanyou after all; he relied too much in scents. Well… he'd just ask him to change his shampoo. Problem solved.

But not today. He's called him worthless before and the guy had run himself into exhaustion. Clearly, he didn't take constructive criticism lightly.

It had been a good twenty minutes before the firsts traces of sleep had shown up, her eye lids slowly dropped and vaguely, just seconds before she fell asleep, she could've sworn she heard a soft whimpering close by. _A dog? _She mused drowsily, already lost in a dreamless sleep.

"Hey, wake up" she heard it before she felt it, that heavy object colliding against her face, and as soon as she opened her eyes she noticed it was Inuyasha's messenger bag. "Wha-?" was her smart reply as she sat up abruptly. She looked to her left and found Inuyasha's annoyed expression, already dressed and taking back his bag. "If you want breakfast you better get ready now." He told her before he left.

_Well… at least no fighting this time._

She felt a lot better today, after last night's venting session even her heart felt lighter. Today was going to be a better day, she could feel it. Quickly, she took a shower and dressed in her uniform, then briefly combed her hair and brushed her teeth. As she looked at her reflection, she became aware of the dark bags under her eyes. She sighed and let her forehead rest on the cool surface of the mirror for a few seconds, smiling halfheartedly. She was fine, she _was_ fine.

She suddenly remember breakfast was waiting for her, so she hurried up and walked into the room again, taking all the things she needed for today's classes.

_Leave the past in the past, where it belongs_ Kagome determinately chanted to herself as she grabbed her messenger bag and hurried to the cafeteria, leaving her emotional turmoil behind her bedroom door. _I'm not faking _she told herself _I'm just repressing unpleasant memories… that's all. _

_Well… _she thought as she neared the cafeteria doors, a fairly optimistic grin on her face _hopefully they have waffles here. A good breakfast will definitely give me the energy I need._

*.*-*.*-*

Life **sucked**, and today had **not** been a better day.

As soon as PE ended she ran to her room, picked some clean clothes, locked the bathroom door, hopped into the shower and quickly washed her sweaty, mud covered body, and –was that blood? Seriously? She didn't ponder on it too long, she had the feeling she would be covered on that body fluid in a daily basis now. As soon as she was –relatively- clean, she dried herself and put on her clothes; a dark blue polo shirt and khaki pants. Not even bothering to comb her hair, she hurriedly left the room, running to get on time to the school entrance.

"You're late" was the first thing she heard as she stopped abruptly in front of an irritated Miroku, who at the sight of Kai started walking out of the school grounds, the petite girl following close by.

"Sorry, sorry" huff "I had to-" she paused to take in some needed air "stop by my room to change." Not even five minutes later they arrived to a homely looking restaurant. She noticed a few tables scattered across the wide entrance porch. Vaguely, she saw Miroku enter the place, but she was too distracted to follow right away.

The coffee shop they had agreed to meet was now full of high school students enjoying the warm evening. Miroku was sitting on a corner table, opposite to the front door, so it had been fairly easy to spot him. _The Coffee House _was quite cozy, with leather seats and classy painting everywhere. Only the best of the best for Sengoku and Jidai Gakuen students, it seemed. "By the way Kai," he said when she was close enough "you look like crap. Why are you all red? And comb you hair a little." Miroku commented, sipping idly his tea. Kagome growled, rolling her eyes and combing her fingers through her hair hastily as she eyed the menu briefly and decided on just having a coffee, the place looked quite expensive, anyway. "I'll just have a frozen cappuccino, please." Kagome asked the waitress as soon as she arrived, who nodding slightly while she wrote the order and left quickly.

"PE was my last class today." She said that hoping it was an understandable statement. And apparently, it was.

"Oh!" he said, nodding in understanding. He had been caught off guard in his first class too "How was it? Did you enjoy old Totosai's teaching techniques?"

"It was horrible; I'm beginning to question his teaching methods! The room was divided demons against humans; do you see that as fair play? I mean, what's up with that?" she said throwing her arms up in frustration. "The moment the old mad blew the whistle all their smirking faces turned to me –except Hojo, he's such a nice guy! Most of the time, anyway - and I had to literally run for my life. It was not fun, I tell you. They only stopped when Inuyasha and Koga started fighting against each other –again. This is not what I had in mind when dad enrolled me here." She said, quietly thanking the waitress when she arrived with her coffee.

"Oh, you'll get use to it… or they'll get tired, whatever comes first. And hey, look at the bright side, it's only twice a week!"

Kagome huffed in annoyance, moving to get more comfortable in the leather couch. "Right. Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear." Miroku just chuckled lightly before clearing his throat.

"Well, now that we've cleared that up, let's get onto business." He announced grinning.

Kagome squirmed nervously in her seat. "Wha-? So soon?" _I haven't even finished my coffee!_

"Oh, for the love of- I haven't even told you yet, stop backing away Kai! It's not that bad, I promise." Miroku whined.

"Well what is it then?" she nervously asked while Miroku kept his eyes bouncing from the door to his watch. Was he expecting someone else to show up?

"You shall know when the time comes" he stated adamantly, he was about to say something else, but suddenly an excited grin appeared in his face "Oh, would you look at that! The time has come." Kagome would have snorted at his silly choice of words had she not noticed the way his eyes lightened. So she turned her head just in time to see two girls walk through the door, one of them her own cousin. "My cousin?" she asked disbelievingly, still staring at the two girls. They seemed to be friends because Rin was laughing amiably while the brown haired girl gave her a light punch on the shoulder.

Miroku just shot her a surprised look "Sango's your cousin?"

"What? No! No, I don't even know her, I was talking abou- … never mind." Kagome stopped, realizing that Miroku was too engrossed gawking over that Sango girl.

"So, what do you actually want me to do?" she asked, her eyes back on the girls. They were close to the grand piano –yes, that place _even _had a piano. Kagome briefly wondered if they had live music or it was just for decoration purposes- with a short demon girl which looked to be a first year too. The three of them were chatting and laughing until the short black haired girl pointed towards them, Rin and Sango turned their heads, and while Rin wave excitedly at the sight of her cousin, Sango just scowled and looked away. Well, it seemed like Miroku's charms were ineffective on her.

"Easy, you help me win her heart and I won't tell your little secret." He said brightly, not affected in the least by Sango's glare.

_Are you kidding me?__ That seems impossible _"That's blackmail! Besides, aren't you a ladies' man?" she spluttered indignantly. She was not qualified to do this kind of things.

"Your powers of observation amuse me." He commented dryly.

"But that's morally wrong!" she exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief. "You could get expelled if I report this-"

"So do you, if the find out you're a-" Miroku sighed, shaking his head "Look, just think about it this way. I know your secret, you know mine. You need my help and I need yours. We're helping each other out! Think of it like a symbiotic relationship. Mutualism, if you will." he said more enthusiastically. He didn't really care about all that biology mumbo jumbo but Kai seemed to grasp the idea. "It's a win-win deal!"

"Symbiotic" Yeah, it was easier to see it in biological terms…"Ok, it doesn't really sound that bad if you put it that way." She said taking a sip of her cappuccino._ Ah, heaven._ Nothing like a frozen coffee to vitalize the body. _ Especially after that PE class… now that I think about it, it was Inuyasha who started that meaningless fight with Koga, preventing the second round of beating-Kagome-up. _She mused, absentmindedly staring at her coffee. She did have a short attention spam.

"Great" Miroku said grinning, and interrupting her musings. "Kai, do you know how to play any instrument, guitar maybe?"

"Uhh yeah, I'm not that goo-" she did a double take and shot him a suspicious look, narrowing her eyes and cocking her head lightly to the side "Why?"

"The cultural festival! There is a talent show; I can confess my love through a song there." He stated smiling confidently "With Shippo as the drummer, I know how to play the bass, and… well,you do the rest. It's in three weeks, so in the mean time we'll just woo her, huh?"

"Miroku-sempai," Kagome said, trying to suppress a sarcastic retort, along with the urge to roll her eyes "in case you haven't notice, I lack social skills; in both cases. I can't sing or play the guitar in public, that's ridiculous, and I can't certainly **woo** a girl." _Ha, woo a girl, I can't even woo a guy! –Not that I would want to. _

"Oh, come on! Everyone can play cupid every once in a while. Look, I'll even help you get on Inuyasha's good side."

"Alright, I'll do what I can, but you'll have to help me… and you write that song." _ Buddha knows I can't do this by myself. _

*-*.*-*.*

*Wan-chan is a cute way to call a puppy. (Wan wan comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia of a dog's bark.) And chan's an affective suffix added to a name, but I'm pretty sure you already know that, I'm just ranting here XD. I think Kagome uses that expression in the second movie, though I don't remember clearly… And I took the legend from the original Goshinboku, the one Inuyasha is based.

It was really hard to write this so, if you've got time, please tell me what you thought about it.


	4. Malebonding

**A/N:** hey, thanks for the reviews (answers at the bottom), favorites, alerts, and pretty much reading, I really appreciate it :D

So enjoy… and remember, this is just fiction =J

**Disclaimer: **not mine.

**Sengoku Gakuen**

***.*-*.*-***

"Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask,

'Where have I gone wrong?'

Then a voice says to me,

'This is going to take more than one night.'"

- Charles M. Schulz

*.*-*.*-*

**Chapter IV – **** Male-bonding…?**

"So, Sango… she works here?" Kagome asked Miroku as she saw the brunette girl walking from table to table picking orders. Rin and their demon friend were sitting in a table close to the kitchen, so that every once in a while she would stop by and chat a little. Probably; Kagome wasn't really sure her assumptions were correct.

Miroku nodded eagerly "She's a part time worker here. From five to nine every day, she spends two hours studying, and then -" he stopped abruptly at Kagome's look "What? I've got my sources." He said shrugging. Kagome just nodded, she didn't really want to know.

There was a minute of awkward silence as she coughed and got more comfortable, sitting against the arm of the couch. She idly heard the beep of her watch, announcing it was already five o' clock. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome noticed that girl sitting with Rin stood up and made her way to the piano, nodding to the woman who seemed to be in charge of the place before taking a seat. She cracked her fingers and turn to smile at Rin before she gracefully started playing the piano. Ah, there was the live music then. She immediately recognized the soft melody as 'Beethoven's Silence' by Ernesto Cortazar, one of her favorites. For a second she wondered why the song choice, because well… it was somewhat melancholic, she looked up to the girl and found her too engrossed with the song._ What wouldn't I give just to play like that…_

"You know… I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano." She commented, smiling wistfully. There was an odd look on Miroku's face, and he slowly set the teacup on the table. "Yeah, so full of emotion." He then laughed softly, his eyes clouded.

"What?" she asked tilting her head to the side. What had caused the sudden mood swing?

"Nothing, I just remembered someone who used to play. He could really-" he suddenly caught himself "Ah, never mind, this song is getting to me." Miroku told her smiling politely, and Kagome lowered her eyes, slightly wondering who the person Miroku was talking about was.

"I see…" There was a little silence, and Kagome decided to change the subject. "Is she from another school?" she asked nodding her head slightly towards the girl playing the piano. Her uniform was vaguely different from Rin's uniform; instead of the black blazer she had a black sailor-style long sleeve shirt.

"Souten?" he asked, watching her play the piano with a content expression. Not waiting for her to nod back, he continued "Yeah, she's still in middle school. This is her last year actually. As you can see she's friends with my dear Sango-chan but, I see her hang out more with Shippo, those two are nearly glued at the hip."

"Are those two-?"

"Nah, they met when Shippo won the Tensai Scholarship" Kagome's eyes widened considerably. That was one of the most distinguished scholarships in the country. _He must be really smart to have earned it, and from what I know he skipped a year too_ "and was transferred to Musashi Junior High two years ago. She was assigned to show him around and, well, they have been best friends ever since."

"How come you all know each other?"

"I met them through Inuyasha, who knows Sango-chan because of their fathers. They were in the same middle school, too. In fact, if I had stayed here I would have met the sooner." Miroku interrupted her as soon as she frowned and opened her mouth. "Well, we all come from the same school, I used to live here when I was a kid, but I moved to Osaka for a few years and then came back three years ago. The only one I remember from my childhood days is Inuyasha… maybe because his mom and mine were gossip buddies."

"You knew Inuyasha as a kid?" she asked as Souten –as she now knew the girl was named- stopped briefly, changing to a happier playful melody she didn't recognize.

"Yeah, but he was a bit of a loner back then" Kagome sweat-dropped …_Back then? How about now?_

"Now that I think of it," Miroku stopped, looking a little past her shoulder. Kagome turned her head and was greeted by the grinning face of her cousin.

"Hey" Rin said happily, standing close to their table. Kagome waved weakly, a little worried because her cousin had a big mouth."Hey Miroku, how have you been?" she asked amiably "I see you've met my cousin, fine guy, reall-"

"No need for that Rin, I know his little secret" Rin's eyes widened considerably as she turned to look at her in disbelief. Miroku happily sipping his tea in the background, thinking maybe this would turn out to be interesting.

"Seriously! Not even 48 hours?" she said still amazed, but then frowned, staring at the table and lowering her voice "Damn, I owe Souta 3000 yen… how much is that in Euros anyway?"

_How cruel! They even bet on that too?_

Kagome, not commenting on that last statement just shrugged uninterested "He actually found out the second he saw me."

"Figures, nothing less from a pervert like him." She said, smiling as she took a seat next to Kagome, but her smile fell as her eyes connected with her injured lip. "What happened, got into a fight already?" Rin asked with an ironic tone in her voice.

"Sort of." Kagome simply said as she played with the straw of her drink, while grimacing. _I was hoping Rin wouldn't see that; with her big mouth I will get a call from my dad soon. _"It won't leave a scar, don't worry." She said dryly while Rin laughed disbelievingly.

"With who?" Kagome just shrugged, not saying anything else. Rin gave her an understanding smile, patting her shoulder lightly.

"Relax, I won't tell uncle… yet. He's calling on Saturday, by the way, so you're invited for dinner."

"Thanks Rin" she said smiling at the idea of finally knowing something about her family. The only thing her dad had told her before she left was that they would leave the country. Her mom and Souta had left right after the funeral while her dad stayed behind to efficiently kill her old identity and create a new one from scratch –how had he managed to do that was still a mystery to her, they were fairly wealthy but she never suspected he had the influential means to do that-, enroll her in her new school, and she even heard he was planning on calling a few old friends, 'pull some strings', he said.

Well, she hoped those were friends with power and the willingness to help, perhaps?

That would be good. The more, the merrier.

She first noticed the awkward silence that had been reigning while she idly contemplated her dad's behavior –along with the hope for extra help, and then she became aware of Miroku regarding them with a dead-pan expression. Had she been thinking for too long? _I really need to work on my attention._

"I'm still here, you know" Miroku said, feeling slightly left out "and you" he pointed at Kagome with a tiny spoon "focus."

She simply returned the dead-pan expression, slowly slurping her frozen coffee. Ha, as if she hadn't tried that before.

Miroku grimaced and turned to Rin "Anyway, how have you been Rin?"

Rin grinned, resting her elbows on the table and her face on her open palms "Don't you mean, how's Sango doing?"

"You know me too well." he said smiling guilty.

Rin waved her hand dismissively "Same old, same old. Kuranosuke has been showing some interest on her, tho-"

"Wait, what! You mean… you mean third year Takeda Kuranosuke? The one completely arrogant, captain of the basketball team, with royal blood in his veins, and millions in his pockets?"

"Yup, that's the one. Incredibly handsome, rich and charismatic Takeda Kuranosuke, seems like quite the competition, huh?"

"He's NOT charismatic!" Miroku all but whined.

"Calm down, you interrupted me before I got to the good part. Sango, even though she had a crush on the guy during junior high- … oh come on, everybody knew that, Miroku!- she got pretty pissed off when last week Kuranosuke called her babe and attempted to embrace her. She left him unconscious for a few seconds, but that didn't seem to dampen his persistence. The guy simply stood up and said he'd be back soon."

_That's it? Just for__ a hug and a pet name? Damn, I really need to be careful then… I hope Miroku knows what he's doing. _She then cocked her head thoughtfully, her eyes slowly widening in sudden realization. _Maybe this is much more than a simple crush to Miroku, he must really like her…_

"Oh, he learned his lesson. Never upset a PMSing girl." Rin stated, nodding sagely while Miroku smirked. "But maybe this time she overdid herself, I mean, I've seen Miroku simply getting a slap for much worse things."

"At least she did more than just slap the guy." He said ostentatiously as he took a long sip of his almost finished tea.

"Maybe she likes him and that's how she flirts" Kagome pondered loud enough for Miroku to hear and he choked, earning a light chuckle from her. "Miroku-sempai, is there a possibility that you might be jealous?" Kagome mocked him, tipped her head thoughtfully. "After all, this Kuranosuke seems to really like Sango."

Miroku snorted "That guy? No, I bet he would piss himself if he knew just who her father was." He said stubbornly crossing his arms, while the two girls laughed at his jealousy display.

"Just admit it, already. You're afraid Sango might like him back." Kagome said playfully, not expecting the older boy to take it seriously.

Miroku frowned, not at all liking the fact that this cross-dressing girl was so carelessly laughing at his poor misfortune –he was NOT jealous, at all. Well, he was getting tired of this conversation, anyway. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." he grunted, a slow smirk curled into his face as the frown deepened, his brain quickly machinating. Maybe there was a way to turn the tables, oh right… Rin was a bit of a chatterbox.

"I've been wondering" he started, scratching his chin absently. "Just how are you gonna do when… that time of the month comes? I'm sure Inuyasha would smell that…that thing. Heck, any other demon in the school would." Well, that would do. He saw Rin, and instantly knew she had fallen in his trap.

_What the hell? _Kagome frowned, feeling awkward "That's none of-" she was interrupted by Rin's chirping voice. "Oh that was fairly easy to work out! My uncle got her norethisterone tablets." At Miroku's inquisitive look she clarified "uhh, they rise the levels of progestogen hormones in the body" Miroku kept staring at her blankly "…they basically prevent it until you want to have a period –and by that I mean when you stop taking them-, which might be during the holidays?" she said turning to Kagome, who gave her an 'I don't know' shrug and sank into her seat slightly flustered. Miroku smiled, watching Kai mortified beyond belief. "-or she can fake a sickness and stay with my family when she needs to take a break –living surrounded by guys must me really stressful, huh?-. Summer vacations are in two months, anyway." She explained, Miroku nodding understandingly, his brain quickly processing the –virtually inaccessible in other circumstances- information.

"Now I get it, it's quite simple if you see it that way besides, Taisho-sensei already knows so, he _might _help… or, just help by not saying anything, I suppose." He mused while Kagome ignored him, just clenching her teeth and staring heatedly at her cousin. _She always had a big mouth, but this is- … this is-! _She scratched her head in a flustered-slash-exasperated gesture.

"Rin! You don't go telling people my personal life!" she 'whispered' huffing in indignation. The nerve of that girl!

"Oh you keep too much to yourself, Kag-… Kai" she slipped again "these things are normal." She finished patting her shoulder lightly while Kagome whispered angrily 'can you _please_ get my name right!', Rin smiling apologetically. Thankfully Miroku hadn't notice.

"You know… I heard cinnamon tea is great too." Miroku said staring at the ceiling. Rin was openly gawking, forgetting for a moment just _who _she was talking to, while Kagome simply raised an eyebrow amused. The guy was a pervert; she had that clear since yesterday. "How do you even know something like that?"

"Oh, things I hear here and there" he said cheerfully.

"Uh, who's your roommate?" Rin asked, turning to Kagome again, more than ready to change the subject.

"An idiotic passive-aggressive, anal retentive mongrel dog with a brobdingnagian ego." Kagome grunted, resting her chin on her open palm. These conversation topics were going from bad to worst. Kagome sulked, looking a little upset as she started playing with the straw of her frozen cappuccino, while Rin and Miroku stared at her; Miroku with amusement whereas Rin was blatantly confused.

"What?"

"Inuyasha's being an ass to her." Miroku translated automatically.

"Oh" she said nodding "so, I'm assuming you share the room with him?" Rin asked tentatively. Kagome just stared at her dryly.

Rin pouted, pushing her lightly "You don't have to be so mean. I got it, I got it."

"Good, because I don't really wanna talk about it." She said smiling apologetically at her, good thing her cousin never took her tactlessness seriously.

At that moment Shippo came running though the front door, which earned him a bewildered look from everyone in the restaurant. He bowed his head muttering apologies to anyone who cared and speed walked to their table.

"What's wrong? I got your text!" he exclaimed –silently- the moment he was close enough to Miroku.

"What do you mean?"

"Wha-! But you wrote 'S.O.S', you said that was _only_ for emergencies!"

"Oh, right. Well, this is an emergency… of sorts." Miroku added reluctantly. "And I texted you an hour and a half ago, what took you so long? No wait, I don't care, the point is I need a drummer for the talent show."

"What talent show?" he said dumbly, still standing.

"The one at the cultural festival in three weeks, gee Shippo, even I know that!" she said as Miroku patted the seat next to him, motioning for Shippo to take it. The young fox demon turned to Miroku as he sat.

"Oh, hey Rin, hey Kai" he greeted slightly sheepish, he had been so focused on Miroku that he hadn't notice them. Both girls –well, the girl and the cross-dresser – waved back at him.

"So, you're gonna perform?" Miroku urged him.

"Well, I suppose I could… that's before the bon fire right?"

"Yeah" Miroku and Rin said at the same time.

"Ok, so… are you gonna sing?"

Miroku shook his head, waving his hand dismissively "Nah, Kai is going to take care of that-"

"You don't even know if I can sing!" she interrupted him, rolling her eyes.

"Details. The point," he said, turning back to Shippo "is that I'm gonna write a song for my dear Sango-chan that expresses my feelings for her." He said dramatically while Kagome send him an annoyed sideways glance.

Shippo snorted, trying not to laugh "Poor Sango."

"Poor Sango? I'm the one who's going to be singing whatever comes to his head in front of everyone!"

"Don't be such a pessimist, maybe this will be a great opportunity to climb the social food change –for you I mean, I'm already nearly at the top." He said smirking playfully, Shippo nodding energetically beside him.

"My friend Kohaku sais guys are already calling you nerd. You're official at the bottom, next to Jinenji and me"

"Like I care." She grumbled, sinking in her seat as Rin gave her a reproachful look. "Oh come on Rin, I'm not going to stop being who I am just because people don't like it." She finished, glaring at Rin quite determined. If she was going to be labeled as a geek, then so be it. That was nothing new.

"Fine, fine, you win." Rin said, shaking her head. "I just… sometimes I worry about you." She said, sending her a meaningful look that made her heart clench tightly. _Somehow, ever since grandpa died I've been getting those looks more often._

"Rin, I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry so much." She said softly, forcing a smile. Miroku and Shippo had been staring silently, and it was Miroku who decided to lighten the mood.

"Now that I think of it, we need to start rehearsing soon if we want to impress Sango" _speak for yourself _"so we'll start on Monday, I'll have the song ready by then, ok?"

"Fine by me. Not like I have anything better to do anyway." Shippo said shrugging.

_At least I'm not the only one unexcited about this. _

"Agh, it can't be help, I guess" Kagome smiled ruefully as subtly looked at her watch.

"Listen, I gotta go, it's already quarter to six and I still need to unpack a few things. See you later guys, bye Rin." She got a wave back from the boys and she was about to get up when Rin stopped her.

"Wait, Ka- Kai. Meet me here on Saturday, I still need to talk to you" she told her cheerfully "I'll introduce you to some of my friends, including Sango."

"Ok, thanks Rin" she told her smiling weakly. She really loved her cousin, but Rin was a lot more sociable than she could ever be. Rin gave her a quick hug and as she was leaving she turned to Miroku "You're paying for my coffee."

*-*.*-*.*

Once she arrived to her room, she immediately started with the 'arduous' task of unpacking the three boxes lying in the corner, her suitcase already unpacked and under her bed –along with her hidden underwear, couldn't have that on the closet she was sharing with Inuyasha. Kagome sigh, opening the first box, finding most of her book collection, a few dictionaries and empty notebooks. She started to move them up from the box to her desk in little groups. She smiled when she found her dad had packed most of her favorite books. _I'll organize them by subject later_ she thought happily.

When she was done with the books she opened the other to boxes, finding desk utensils, toiletries, more books –_dad really did packed half my book collection-_ her small laptop, a thin TV screen and her travelling size amplifier, along with a few other things she used on a daily basis _no wonder why those boxes were so heavy. I'll have to call Rin later to see if he send my guitar too. _

She kept working for the next forty minutes moving from one side of the room to the other, organizing her things without disrupting Inuyasha's stuff. _He might as well just mark his territory… _

She then proceeded to install the TV screen on her desk. _I wonder if wan-chan can see this from his bed… _she absently thought while setting the TV, and adjusting it so that it could be seen from both beds. When she was finally satisfied, she took her laptop out of the case. Once she had her laptop installed on her desk, she plopped onto her bed with her history text book, _might as well finish that homework early._

*.*-*.*-*

Inuyasha sighed blissfully, that had been _one_ productive evening. Spending three hours in the training room did wonders to lower his stress levels. After that PE class –in which he had subtly started a fight with Koga, so that his clumsy roommate would have a break- he felt the need to blow some –more- steam and decided to visit the underground gym.

This evening had proved to be quite stress-relieving, after all. He was clad in a simple white tank top and red track pants, his long silver hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. _If only I knew how to braid it like Bankotsu does… _he sighed heavily, it would hurt to untangle it later on. Sometimes he wondered how had Bankotsu learned to braid hair… _maybe Jakotsu does it for him, they seem to be close friends, after all…_

With one hand in his pocket, he wiped his face with the small towel as he walked back to his room. _Ah, I should have done this yesterday too. _

He opened the door to his room and sighed dejectedly when he noticed Kai was already there; he had been hoping for a little peace and quiet. "Oh, you're here." He said dryly, closing the door after him. Kai hummed something that sounded suspiciously like 'hey wan-chan' from his bed, too engrossed in his history textbook, every once in a while taking a cookie from the bag laying next to him. "Are you actually doing homework?" _What a nerd! The only one who ever reads is that hobo-_

"Yup, I need to catch up with the six weeks I've missed here. Besides, you should read it, it's pretty interesting." She said, not lifting her eyes from the book. She took a bite from another cookie and turned the page.

"No thanks" he said with a careless wave, moving to sit on his desk, pseudo-organizing his books nonchalantly. He heard the other boy shift to a sitting position and looked up –big mistake.

He'd only looked him in the eye a few times, but every time he got the same feeling; his stomach getting cold –was that even normal?- and his heart pounding against his ribcage, in other words: making his insides squirm considerably in a way he wasn't used to. He saw the smaller boy give him a thankful smile "By the way, I wanted to thank you for distracting Koga and the others during PE –" he blinked quickly, turning to look away. Was it that obvious?

Inuyasha let out a fake laugh "Oh, no. I didn't do it for you, so don't get any ideas. I just needed to vent a little and Hibiki's always a great punching bag, especially when I haven't been to the gym for a few days. So, it was purely coincidental."

She was about to tell him that there were no such things as coincidences when she frowned "Wait, the gym?" _they even have a gym?_

"Yeah, we have an underground gym bellow the cafeteria," _figures… I wouldn't be surprised if they had-_ "though is not as impressive as the recreational room."

Oh yeah, she had forgotten about that.

"Oh, by the way, have you heard something weird? Yesterday just before I went to sleep I could've sworn I heard a whining… it wasn't you, right?" she said teasingly. Inuyasha froze for a second, but regain his composure immediately.

"You're delusional. I didn't hear anything besides, these walls are soundproof, so maybe it was your imagination." He said nodding to himself.

"What?" Kagome asked, pausing in the act of idly turning the page, the book forgotten minutes ago. _Maybe but…_ she tilted her head, remembering something she had been meaning to ask.

Kai hesitated for a second. "Hey Inuyasha," already on first name basis? They had just met yesterday and the guy was comfortable enough to call him by his first name? "I know this is weird but… can I ask you something?" The only response Inuyasha gave him was a shrug so he continued "is, uhh, is Kagewaki-sensei gay?" Inuyasha choked on his own saliva and stared at Kai with wide eyes. Sure Kagewaki had always been disturbingly creepy, but – "i-it's just that he didn't take his eyes off of me during most of the lesson, I was really freaked out… so, is he?" he heard the boy ask anxiously.

"No" _you are just a strangely pretty boy, with strangely pretty eyes, and- ... I should just stop there... _"I mean, I don't think so…"

"I see…" she said frowning slightly, maybe Inuyasha was right and it was all just her imagination. She looked up and found her roommate eyeing her TV curiously, though he seemed a bit jumpy. "Can you see it from your bed?" Inuyasha's eyes widened, he had been treating the guy like crap at yet he was willing to share his things with him.

"Huh?"

"The TV, can you see it?" she repeated slowly, inwardly smiling at his dumbfounded expression.

"O-oh!" he exclaimed, hastily getting to his feet and moving to his bed. Kagome stared at him weirdly as he sat and nodded, confirming he could see it perfectly.

Kai chuckle at his weird behavior and he absently thought he had a nice laugh. _And back to the disturbing thoughts again! I'm just tired, that's all. Maybe a nice –freezing- shower will clear my head… _

"W-Well," Inuyasha started, now standing straight. "now that this conversation it over," he said taking off his tank top –Kagome awkwardly lowered her eyes to the book - and grabbing some clothes from his side of the closet. "I'm gonna take a shower and when I get out _you_" he said pointing at her, though not as annoyed as he should've been "won't be here."

"Yeah, you stink already" she half joked –still not looking at him, she heard a faint 'shut up' before he shut the bathroom door.

It wasn't until that moment that it dawn to her –the implications of rooming with a boy, a well built boy nonetheless. Kagome gulped loudly, she had not been staring, but she couldn't help but notice that he worked out and he wasn't afraid of showing off –at least not in their room-, as well as all the other guys in the school.

_Well… they're all pretty good looking, I guess. _

Suddenly she felt very small.

She sighed, scratching her hair _what have I gotten myself into?_

*.*-*.*-*

By the way, tensai means: genius, prodigy, talent/talented

Oh, right. I was playing a few days ago with one of my Japanese dictionaries and I found one of the many kanji's in which Kai can be written:

改 (Kai)

―meanings―

Reformation, change, modify, mend, renew, examine, inspect, search.

*.*-*.*-*

Hi, **Angel. **Thanks for the reviews, and for sticking up since the first chapter, I really appreciate it . XD

**Romanceadict **hey I hope this chapter explained the period enigma , I too had been breaking my head with that since I started sketching this fic. I was waiting for Rin to blurt it out, even if it was until the fourth chapter. Thanks for taking the time to review. :D

**BoredGir117 **lol I know, I'm really not sure how I came up with this plot. Thanks for the review :D

Hi, **guest. **Thanks, it really means a lot, especially because English is not my first language.

You know, I kinda did that on purpose (though now I think I overdid it); it was just not Inuyasha's day. Sometimes people inexplicably wake up in a bad mood and it all goes downhill from there. So, even a simple job (beating the crap out of Kai) can turn into a burden when one is frustrated and cannot think clearly… or maybe that's just me.

Sorry that Inuyasha won't find out just yet, I just want to mess with his head for a while. Besides, I really think that when Inuyasha smells people its their scent what he notices. I'm not sure but I think the first time he meets Kagura he confuses her scent with Naraku's … or something like that.

I mean, I don't think he can tell if its male or female just sniffing around…

Anyway, I really appreciated that you took the time to review every chapter, and I hope I could answer everything (I'm pretty sure I made an idiot out of myself with that reply…)

**NurNur** thanks! I updated as soon as I could, hope you enjoyed it :D

**Licootaku **thanks for the review –and for the compliment! XD- hope you liked this chapter :D

**Reader238**thank you very much :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**MidnightFlame325 **thank you! Your reviews always make me feel soo happy –I swear I'm not squealing in my chair!- At first I was not sure if I should add it, but there you have it! I thought it would be a nice touch XD hope you liked this one too!

**Awesomely Awesome4 **heheh, sorry to have kept you up so late. don't worry, I try to update as soon as I can. Thanks for the review =)

**I still have that damned writer's block, any suggestions? Ideas? Thoughts you might wanna share with me?**

**I'll TRY to have next chapter ready by Saturday (hopefully). Sorry if it's going really slow**


	5. Maybe Fitting in is Not an Option

**A/N: Hey… uhh, sorry for taking longer… I know I sa****id it would (hopefully) be up by Saturday, buuuut… well real life got in the way. Besides, each chapter gets harder and harder to write! . it took me two week to finally finish this one!**

**So****, really really really sorry T.T**

**Don't own anything!**

**Sengoku Gakuen **

*-*.*-*.*

"Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you

should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you

will forget the pose, and then where are you?"

- Fanny Brice

*.*-*.*-*

**Chapter V- Maybe fitting in is not an option****.**

Emitting a sound between a gasp and a strangled cry, Kagome woke up in the middle of the night. Again. She shakily brought her right hand to her face, taking deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. She quickly swallowed her fear, shaking her head to get rid of the remaining feelings; absently noticing the raw emotions that felt so vivid in these last few dreams –or, nightmares.

_Well, two days in a row… that's nice. Gramps would be so proud of me, freaking over a stupid dream _she thought dryly, still breathing deeply.

Yet, this time it had felt so real; his hand gripping her wrist so tightly, it actually hurt. She had felt the desperation, the urgency in his voice. Perhaps it was a good thing she had kept her eyes fixed on the ground, she'd not seen his eyes this time. Kagome sighed, scratching the back of her neck and squeezing her eyes shut for a few seconds, _next time I really should pay attention to what he says and not what I feel, maybe then I could- _Kagome frowned, staring at her hands helplessly _… what exactly could I do? _

She took a quick peek at Inuyasha's side of the room, it was the second time this had happened and she really didn't want him to wake up because of her. From her bed she couldn't actually see his face, but his chest was slowly rising with every breath, so… hopefully he was still asleep. Once she was calm enough she sighed, laying back on the bed and staring intently at the ceiling for a few minutes, letting the silence magnify the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

Might as well try to go back to sleep again, tomorrow was a school day after all. Kagome closed her eyes, trying to relax her body; imagining she could fly always helped her. What was that other technique? Ah never mind, a nice meditation session would certainly help her.

… Or not.

"What the hell!" Kagome mumbled restlessly, kicking the blue comforter away from her body. It was a little past two in the morning and she was _still_ awake. Somehow every single time she tried to go back to sleep, bits from the dream flashed before her. So yeah, this was getting rather irksome.

_Why?_ She mentally whined, bringing her hands up to her face and ran them down hard. She had been tossing and turning for two hours already. Sighing dejectedly, Kagome made up her mind._ Ah, might as well get up, I won't fall asleep any time soon..._

She relaxed her body, idly staring out of the balcony

_Maybe I should__ just take a walk, clear my mind… or get something to eat, sleepless night always get me hungry. I know I have some change on my hoodie, thankfully there are lots of vending machines in the school._

She slowly and quietly got off the bed, put on the sweater that was hanging from her desk chair, grabbed her history textbook, and her shoes with the same hand as she skillfully tiptoed her way towards the door, hesitating for a moment as she opened it. Kagome looked back and scoffed soundlessly, staring jealously at her _sleeping_ roommate, Inuyasha was sprawled over the bed breathing deeply. _Such guard dog he is. _

Kagome held her breath as she quietly closed the door, only releasing it as soon as she had taken a few steps back.

As soon as Inuyasha heard the door close, he opened his amber eyes and stared at the ceiling furrowing his eyebrows. Nightmares two nights in a row, huh? This time he was sure it was not his fault, he had been kind enough today. Well, as kind as he could be; altruism was not his thing. His eyes shifted uncertainly to the door.

Should he follow Kai? Was that common protocol between male roommates? Any type of roommates at all? He'd never cared enough to do something like that before.

_No no, what the hell am I thinking? That would seem very stalkerish… plus, it would look like I care –which I don't._ He thought adamantly, turning to face the wall, inwardly crossing his arms. _Ha, as if his prettiness would aff- pettiness, I meant as if his pettiness would affect me! _ He would most certainly not leave the room, at all.

*.*-*.*-*

Kagome stood in front of the door as she put on her sneakers. Well, what now? It was the middle of the night and a quick run didn't sound very entertaining, not to mention she had already jogged for an hour after dinner time again today. The library? It was certain to be closed and she still couldn't pinpoint its exact location, much less at night. Cafeteria? Perhaps, but the chairs were kinda uncomfortable.

No no, she needed somewhere se could sit down and relax for a while –maybe all night long, if she didn't get sleepy.

_Hmm…Maybe I should check out that recreational room._She thought, turning to making her way to the stairs, slowly descending until she was on the ground floor, and absently wonder if there were any elevators on the school. Well, there was no rush anyway; she probably had all night long. She took a left turn and found herself facing an oak door to her right, and the corridor that led to the cafeteria to her left. So she turned left, for the first time entering the room when none of the guys were pigging out or joking around.

The only light that came was from the crescent moon through the large windows, creating long shadows. It wasn't like she was afraid of the dark, but one could never be cautious enough these days. _Especially when you're guarding something _this_ important _she thought, gripping the Shikon no tama through her shirt. As she did, she could feel her heart beating in trepidation.

She grimaced as she felt a chill ran down her spine, _talk about bad feelings. _Glancing around, she felt as her breathing hollowed, making it easier to listen to any suspicious sound; she was met with an eerie silence. Kagome had only felt like this once before –last week to be precise-, the feeling of being in the middle of something very, very wrong. She felt eyes on her back and decided it was time to leave the cafeteria. Vaguely, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move on the other side of the room. _Yep, time to get the hell away from here._

Kagome gulped slightly, turning her head toward the doors she'd seen her classmates sporadically disappear, especially after dinner time. _That must be it _she though, quickly closing the distance, happy that she was leaving behind whatever it was that gave her the chills.

She opened the door cautiously and immediately turned on the lights, better safe than sorry; and her jaw touched the ground. _ This isn't real! _"This isn't real…!" she said, voicing her thoughts and already shoving her apprehension to the very back of her head. She'd deal with that later.

Kagome gaped as soon as she opened the doors, the room itself was very spacious almost as big as the cafeteria itself. She made a 360 degrees turn, surveying the room in amazement and her eyes came across a black Steinway and Sons piano sitting elegantly near the center of the room, making it seem as if the whole room revolved around it.

_The heart of it _Kagome smile, placing her textbook on the cushioned seat and moving to the left, were three tall bookshelves in the far corner filled to the top with classics, best sellers, encyclopedias, and history books rested. The three bookshelves were positioned in an 'u' shape, leaving space in the middle for two beanies and a coffee table.

There were two poker tables –or at least they looked like poker tables to her- and a pool table. The walls were paint in a dark elegant red, a nice contrast with the black leather couches sitting in front of a home theater system with a giant LCD TV. Along with the TV there were a few game consoles and a couple of dozen video games, and a karaoke system.

_I can't believe it! What kind of school is this? Pool… poker tables… at least 30 different video games. These guys are really spoiled…_she snorted, still staring disdainfully at all the luxuries around her, wondering for the millionth time what kind of school she was attending. _Typical spoiled children that will grow into spoiled men_ Kagome frowned and looked away from the TV, but did a double take halfway_ and- Oh, for the love of Buddha… it even has an arcade!_

On a far corner were three arcade machines, as Kagome got closer she squinted; not being a fan of arcade games she could scarcely recognized them as a Guitar heroarcade,some zombie-annihilating game, and a fighting game._ I wasn't even aware there was a guitar hero arcade game. _She thought, still very much amazed by all the stuff confined in that room.

_Whoa, I bet these guys must never get bored!_

Kagome kept admiring the place, absolutely dumbfounded. It seemed every day she discovered something new about the school. Her eyes shifted quickly between the reading corner, the piano, the pool table, the arcade, the TV and all its gadgets, the absolutely heavenly bending machines neat the door –which she'd just notice-, and she couldn't help but grin gleefully.

… _But I guess I could enjoy it as long as I'm here. _

Still grinning and letting out a rather unusual squealing sound, she decided to settle in the two seat leather couch in front of the TV, and pressed the ON button on the remote. _Might as well try this beauty. _She was immediately greeted by a few girls playing beach volleyball, _bunch of perverts_ she thought, rolling her eyes and changing the channel. After going through all the channels at least twice, she settle for one in which she knew run old movies; only to grin as she recognized it as the first of the Indiana Jones movies.

Ever since she was a little girl, she'd loved the archaeology teacher. Maybe it was because of all the adventures she'd secretly recreated with Souta back when they were kids, and it was now it was burned into her memory as one of the happiest moments of her childhood and a break from her spiritual training. Maybe it was because of her dad; they always watched these movies together in between his business trips. Well, either way, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ was a great movie.

*.*-*.*-*

Inuyasha opened his eyes for the third time that night and straighten up in his bed to look at Kai's side of the room, which was stupid because he would've heard him come in. He had not returned and it was already five am. Inuyasha sighed audibly, clearly his inner turmoil –between looking for Kai, or not looking for Kai- wouldn't let him sleep anymore, so he lazily got to a sitting position and huffed in irritation, staring intently at the door for a few minutes. Well, he didn't need to sleep anyway. Hesitantly, he got to his feet, put on his shoes and move to the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water as he looked as his reflection.

_What's getting into me? _He stared for a few seconds and then shook his head slowly.

Closing the door to his room, his hand lingered on the doorknob for a few seconds. _Why the hell am I doing this? Normally I would just shrug it off, but now I'm worrying over this kid… well maybe it because he's really pathetic, and doesn't stand a chance against any demon. _

_This is stupid…_

"Now, where could he be?" he sniffed the air slightly, finding Kai's scent very faintly leading downstairs. _I'll just make sure he's ok and then I'll go back. _He told himself sternly.

A couple of minutes later he entered the cafeteria and frowned. Someone had been here, besides Kai. It reeked of demon, and he knew which one might have been. He'd have to warn that stupid kid no to go out at night, as nice as the school might seem, it still had demons –some of them exceedingly hostile. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, that guy could be really reckless, going out in the middle of the night in a school full of demons, where was his sense of self-preservation? He turned his head to the big oak doors leading to the recreational room, and saw light from underneath the doors. _Ah, so that's where he went._

*.*-*.*

An hour after the movie ended, Kagome was sitting comfortably on one of the two beanies reading her history book. The TV was still on too, if only to drown the silence; early in her childhood she had discover that she could not concentrate when there was absolute silence, so she'd always study with the TV or her iPod on.

Being so concentrated she didn't hear the click of the door closing.

Somewhere in the back of her head she registered another presence in the room and froze, trying to discern any kind of sound; footsteps, breathing, anything would do. But she certainly wasn't expecting a hand on her shoulder. Kagome sent her history textbook flying in panic, and her mouth opened in a silent scream, why had she never been able to scream when she was scared? That was a horrible flaw, what if she needed help? She immediately stood up and turned to face the person, thing, creature that had touched her and furrowed her eyebrows at the person in front of her, giving her an amused smirk.

"What the hell, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" the hanyou merely shrugged as he watched Kai lean down to pick up his fallen book. He looked up and gave him a nasty glare "You did, huh? I would be dead by now if I had a delicate heart." She snapped, slightly pouting as Inuyasha tried not to laugh.

"You do have a delicate heart" he said chuckling "you were scared shitless."

Kagome frowned, ignoring him while she walk to the same couch she had used before, when she was watching TV. That would give her time to think. "Well, not as much as you may think! I've had my share of bad situations, I've seen horrible things too, you know! That automatically revokes the 'delicate heart' theory." She said, still not looking at him.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Why did you almost jump to the roof five minutes ago, then?"

"Because I was slightly freaked out, it's absolutely normal!" She said defensively. "By the way, were you in the cafeteria a few hours ago?"

"No… why would I be?" what was he talking about? Oh- so he _did _notice. He was not that stupid after all.

"Never mind… I just- I felt something really weird, and for a moment I thought it would hopefully be you messing with my head."

"That would've been a really messed up joke. Don't get me wrong, though, I still don't like you." He said with a serious tone, shaking his head and Kagome had to roll her eyes at his last statement; he had made that very clear by now. "But, I would be more careful if I were you. There are some demons that don't really get along with humans –or other demons." There was a brief paused as he considered the next statement. "Half-demons included."

"Hm" she simply said, noticing the way he had hesitated before referring half-demons. Maybe when he was a little boy demons picked on him. It was a possibility, seeing as he wasn't exactly a full demon nor a human. Not many people could understand how wonderful that could be, being a child of two worlds… Not like she would tell him that anyway.

"What are you doing here anyways?" he said, changing the topic.

"Anyway." She corrected absently from her spot on the couch before shrugging "I couldn't sleep, you?"

"Same…" he said, hands in his pockets and slowly walking to the couch, plopping next to the small boy.

They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Kagome decided to be the one to break the ice. "Hey, now that you're here… wanna play?" she asked hopefully, nodding toward the arcade zone. "I really want to try those games now."

"Whatever." He grunted, yet got to his feet and move to the arcades with her.

"Great!" Kagome grinned. "I'm gonna totally kick your ass." She said, punching him on the shoulder. "What do you want to play? You don't care? Oh, so guitar hero it is!" she said taking a guitar and setting the game on medium. They would start easy.

Fifty minutes later they both plopped back into the couch, Inuyasha scowling all the while. How could he lose 6 out of 9 of the songs? Meanwhile, Kai was greening gleefully "See? Told you so!"

"Shut up, my claws got in the way." Inuyasha said, sulking.

Kagome scoffed, still grinning "Yeah right, keep telling that to yourself." She felt really tired now. Trying to keep her eyes open, she bumped Inuyasha's shoulder with her own. "So, are we friends now?"

Inuyasha hesitated for a minute, contemplating his answer. "Think of it as a truce."

"I see…" he heard the small boy reply quietly.

Inuyasha felt a bit guilty, but then frowned when he remembered how close Miroku and Kai seem to be getting, in just two days. "Isn't being friends with Miroku enough?" he asked roughly.

It took a while for Kai to answer, and when he spoke, his voice was slow and quiet. "Oh… well, the friendship with him was brought by unfortunate circumstances –and Shippo's to an extent too. It's really hard to explain, but…" Inuyasha kept his eyes on the screen as he waited for the boy to continue, and he waited… and he waited.

_How polite__… didn't his parents ever taught him to finish his sentences coherently? _He thought dryly, now focusing his attention on the morning news. He saw the time at the corner of the screen and realized it was close to six in the morning now.

He felt a sudden weight on his shoulder and jump slightly, his eyes diverting from the screen to the mass of unruly hair resting against his left side. "Hey, Higurashi" he whispered, a little flustered and shaking him slightly, but he got no reply "A-are you really asleep? Hey, wake up!" he hissed trying to wake up the boy sleeping against his shoulder. Oh, if anyone walked into them right now it would be really hard to explain this. He'd have to get him out of here, right now.

_Oh great_he thought dryly, _now I have to carry him back to bed. Thank god it's still early. _

*.*-*.*-*

Kagome entered the cafeteria with a big smile plastered on her face; she quickly spotted Miroku and Shippo sitting in the same table as last time and grinned. As she got closer the two of them they just kept staring, their heads slightly cocked to the side. "And why are you so happy all of the sudden?" Shippo was the one to break the silence while Miroku went back to his unfinished homework.

"Isn't life just wonderful?" she said patting Shippo's head and sitting onto the empty chair next to him "Do you smell that?" she asked inhaling deeply.

"Breakfast?" Shippo answered dubiously as he played with his bowl of colorful cereal, swimming in rainbow-colored milk. Nothing like a nice dose of sugar to start the day with the right foot.

"No Shippo, is something so much better than breakfast, it's the smell of victory –success!" she exclaimed as she brought to her mouth a piece of maple syrup covered waffle.

"Uh, Kai… ar –are you ok?" Shippo asked tentatively, still afraid of his odd behavior.

"I've never been better!" she said in between mouthfuls of waffles.

"Kai," Miroku started not looking up from his notebook "how many cups of coffee have you had?"

"This is my third one, and then I found this colorful can of concentrated energy!" she exclaimed pointing to an empty can "I couldn't sleep yesterday so I need something that'll keep me awake through the whole day. We have to make a plan, remember?"

"Oh yeah… I was thinking that maybe we could start by playing secret admirer."

Kagome groaned, bringing a hand to her forehead "Oh… please don't tell me we're going to really stick with the secret admirer crap!"

"It's more romantic!" Miroku exclaimed, wildly gesturing with his hands. What was so wrong with that?

Kagome rolled her eyes "Which part, being constantly stalked by a random guy or the gifts with surreptitious questionable motives? Mhmm, I can see the romance in that." She added sarcastically, while Miroku glared back at her, tickled by her lack of seriousness. After a minute of silence, Kagome rolled her eyes, giving into his pouty glare. "So… where exactly do I stand, then?"

Miroku straighten in his seat and gave her a charming smile. "You'll be the delivery boy! … Because, well… leaving an anonymous package is creepy these days." He said, poking her in the forehead with the pencil.

Kagome frowned, slapping his hand away. "I have a feeling your plan will backfire. Besides, the easiest thing we should do is just verbally express your int-…" Her attention drifted to one of the doors, at the sight of a pair of dog ears she waved eagerly, earning a few odd looks and an embarrassed flush from her roommate and Shippo; Miroku, seeing as their conversation was over reluctantly turned to his homework again, muttering about her short attention spam. "Hey, perpetual frowner! Over here!"

_I__ should've just skipped breakfast._ Inuyasha tried to ignore him for a few minutes while he got a nice serving of pork ramen, all the while feeling eyes boring into his back. Usually meals were the only time Inuyasha would share with Miroku and/or Shippo, so he was pretty used to them being around him whenever he ate at the school's cafeteria, but Kai… brought a new level of attention to their table, at least today. Their table had always raised controversy, really, why would outgoing and cheerful Miroku hang out with a nerd and a hanyou with a foul attitude? And now add this socially inept boy; yeah, a nice little disfuctional group they were.

Not being able to prolong the food serving process any longer, he turned and slowly began heading to their table. "What's up with him?" Shippo asked him as Inuyasha got closer.

_And he's supposedly one of the smartest guys on the school… _"Caffeine overdose, can't you tell?" he said gruffly, taking a seat in front of the three, immediately focusing on his ramen. Ah, that blissful noodle dish always got him al warm and fuzzy inside. There was nothing in the world like ramen.

"That's your breakfast?" Kagome asked disbelievingly as she leaned over the table to sniff it. "Pork ramen?"

The chop sticks stopped millimeters from his face, the comment strong enough to make him divert his eyes from his food and to the boy's blue eyes. He lowered his eating utensils and Inuyasha crossed his arms defensively, narrowing his eyes into slits "What's wrong with it? I happen to like it."

Kagome shrugged, slightly caught off guard by his over protectiveness. It was just ramen for god's sake. "I'm just saying that's not breakfast, at all." She said, still regarding him skeptically.

"Ha! Breakfast, mid-morning break, brunch, lunch, teatime, dinner, supper, midnight snack… That's all I've seen him eat since I came here." Shippo muttered to her quietly. She scoffed, trying to suppress her laughter. "No wonder he's so fat." Kagome whispered back, knowing full well that the hanyou could easily hear them. She smirked when he made a face.

He was not fat! It was all muscle; he even worked out three times a week, besides P.E. "You two, shut up already." He grunted halfheartedly, pointedly going back to his ramen and determinedly ignoring the two boys snickering childishly. He would leave this place with his stomach full and getting all aggravated would _really_ be a waste of time.

*-*.*-*.*

The morning classed had come and gone by fairly quickly and all that caffeine rush had dissipated by the time her history class had begun, and now she was left with nothing to do but absentmindedly staring out of the window. It sure was a nice day, Kagome cracked a tiny smile, perhaps she'd get some sleep tonight. Yeah, that was possibly wishful thinking, but she just didn't seem to care at that moment, bed time was over eight hours away.

_Ah, maybe things _will_ get better… I don't have any homework left for tomorrow, most of the guy have been less hostile to me, and Inuyasha seems to be getting a little bit friendlier… ok, maybe that was an overstatement, no point in lying to myself._

She was interrupted from her musing by someone loudly clearing his throat "Any comments about last night's assignment?" Myoga-sensei asked hopefully, it had been a while since anyone had –willingly- participated. He was met with silence. Again. "Uh, how about you, Hojo-kun?" said student gingerly stood up and regarded him apologetically.

"I'm sorry Myoga-sensei but I had a student council meeting yesterday and it took longer than we expected, so I didn't have enough time to finish the reading." he said bowing his head slightly. Myoga-sensei looked a little crestfallen, but smiled nonetheless; Hojo was one of his best students.

"Don't worry Hojo-kun, I know your activities as class representative are vital. Anyone else?" He surveyed the classroom, finding most of the boys sinking in their seats or hiding their faces –as if the mere action would make them invisible-. Everyone seemed to be avoiding his gaze except Kai Higurashi, who was playing idly with his pen. Well, maybe the new student would prove to be responsible. It was his last shot. "Higurashi-kun?"

The pen fell from her hand as her concentration broke. Suddenly realizing where she was, Kagome looked up "Hm? Oh, yes." She said as she stood, imitating Hojo's actions. "Well, I must say I found it highly entertaining." Inuyasha snorted from beside her, feeling the collective eye roll that crossed the entire class.

"I mean, regarding the actions of Amaterasu, Susano-o, and all the other Gods and Earth-borns during that creation perion, and what came afterwards; there was an avoidance of moral judgment as to good and evil, and Susano-o did some pretty cruel things." Kagome paused and Myoga-sensei nodded eagerly, encouraging her to continue. "I believe that their actions were only judge as disruptive instead of evil, and I must say that some of those gods did things that were extremely nasty. I found that really distinctive in our mythology, because from what I understood, behavior here is accepted or rejected depending on the situation, not according to any obvious set of universal principles, as it is in other countries, or cultures." She closed her mouth, somehow feeling she had said too much, and from the look on Inuyasha's face… she had.

"My cutie turned out to be a geek." Jakotsu muttered to himself, shaking his head sadly.

There was an awkward silence. Halfway through her speech everyone had gone back to doodling, snoozing, inconspicuously listening to music or updating their status on social networks and texting, but Myoga-sensei paid no heed to those, he was absolutely beaming, he couldn't remember when was the last time someone cared to give such a complete answer. "Well done Higurashi-kun, they rest of you" he said, glaring at the distracted students "could learn a thing or two from him." At that, most of the class turned to glare at her.

Kagome cringed, sitting down awkwardly _Damn! Maybe I should've just said it was interesting and STOPPED there… those looks are killing me._

"Now, finish that chapter and if you have time, get to work on your projects." Kagome raised her hand, not knowing what project he was talking about. "You're with Taisho-kun, Higurashi-kun" Myoga-sensei said grinning slightly. She nodded, lowering her hand. She saw most of the guy reluctantly opening their books and Kagome sighed. She had read that last night. Well… might as well use this time to catch up.

And so, the rest of the lesson was spend in relative silence, Kagome reading previous lessons, most of the guys pretending to be reading, Inuyasha no even bothering, Koga sleeping with his eyes open, Bankotsu actually snoozing in the back of the room. The usual, it seemed. She even tried encouraging her 'roomie'.

"Don't you ever read?" she leaned over to ask, blinking.

Inuyasha just waved his had dismissively, not even turning to face him "Course I do."

"Then why aren't you now?" she asked tilting her head slightly.

"Not interested." He replied curtly, focusing on the drawing he was making about him beating the sh-… living daylight out of Koga in all the activities in the cultural festival.

"But this is going to be on next week's test." Kagome insisted, but Inuyasha didn't seem to care.

Inuyasha sighed, gripping his pen tightly. "I know." Wow, he was being very patient.

Kagome inwardly grin, he would soon cave in. "Then?"

"Then, what?" he asked through gritted teeth. The things he had to do just to keep the fact that he had read half of the lesson already, he had an image to keep, and that didn't include doing school work.

"Shouldn't you be reading…?"

"Look, I'll read when I feel like it." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly with his index finger and thumb.

"But-" Inuyasha felt irritation bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Enough. Cute or not he was getting tired of this.

"Look, I got tired of this game. I'll solve my own problems, _thanks. _So, _please_ shut the fuck up already." Inuyasha snapped, finally turning to face Kai.

There was a long pause.

"…Fine." Kagome said pouting. Wasn't he just a basket of sunshine, rainbows and unicorns?

Needless to say, it didn't end very well. After that it wasn't long before the bell rang and everyone got up from their seats.

"Hey, move it nerd!" the wolf demon snapped as he pushed his way out of the class, Kagome sulked –rubbing her shoulder gently- knowing Koga was referring to him… her! Damn, she thought she had gotten over that already…! Well, she would have known either way, had he not pushed her out of the way to make a point.

It wasn't her fault that she knew all the answers, she even limited to answer ONLY when she was asked, especially in physics and history, which were her favorite subjects.

So, in the lapse of three days she had gone from 'new guy' to 'nerd', 'dork' or 'geek' depending on who was talking to her.

Turning her head, Kagome saw Inuyasha trailing lazily behind her. Perhaps she should ask about that project. She slowed down a little bit to walk side by side, "So…what legend do we have?" she asked Inuyasha while they made their way downstairs and out of the school building.

He hesitated for a bit, still a little irked with him, but he pushed it aside in order to brag about their project."The Shikon no tama" he said, looking at her sideways, but something in his eyes told her that he was actually exited with the whole project.

"Oh… great" she said weakly, trying to muster a smile. "Did Myoga-sensei pick the topic?" Figures, nothing like a nice small reminder in the shape of a history report to cheer her up. Sure fate had a dry sense of humor.

Inuyasha shook his head "Nah, this time we got to choose."

"Ah, I see. So… of all the amazing myths out there, _why_ do you want to write a ten pages long essay on the Shikon no tama. Surely there are happier, light-hearted legends that would be, uh… easier to investigate, eh?" she said forcing a grin.

Inuyasha got closer to her, invading her personal bubble –making her feel slightly wary and flustered, she'd always felt uncomfortable when people were too close- as he lean to whisper quietly "Because the Shikon no tama is not just a legend, as you may think." _Wouldn't I know it, I'm its keeper… _ Kagome mentally rolled her eyes. "I've been reading about it, fantasizing since I was a kid. I know this is real, and I'm going to find it." She turned to him and noticed that for the first time his eyes were shining with something akin to determination. This was something important for him and somehow he was sharing this with her, but instead of feeling camaraderie or at least honored that he had told her something about him, she couldn't help but feel her stomach turning violently. Funny how fate has a way of putting right in front of us that which we most try to avoid, huh? Her dad was right when he told her many people –especially demons- were after that pink jewel. _Now this puts me in a very uncomfortable situation, somehow is like sleeping with the enemy…_

Kai just stared at him with an unreadable expression, his face a little pale. "Why in the world would you want it? As far as I know, it only brings pain and suffering to the ones who bear it." For a fleeting moment his cobalt eyes darkened and he could almost swear he saw a flash of pain, but he decided to ignore it for the time being; it was probably his colorful imagination, anyway.

He couldn't trust his head these days… So, composing himself, Inuyasha regarded him with a scowl and quickened his pace, already feeling the irritation building up again. He shouldn't have bothered telling him this; Kai was human, he wouldn't get it. "You don't understand it, do you?"

_How would I NOT understand it?_

"Hm?" Kagome sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead. _Great._ "No, I-… I understand, I just- never mind." She said shaking her head, and trailing slowly behind him. Kagome pursed her lips, staring at the back of his head dejectedly.

_Just what I needed, another poor, blinded soul after the stupid marble._

*-*.*-*.*

Thanks for the reviews; it means a lot to know what you guys think about this! :D

**Licootaku**

I'm not gonna answer to that… yet. That idea has been in my head since I started writing this. XD

thanks for taking the time to review!

**PriestessTeeTee**

Lol, I'm really glad you like it :D thanks for the review!

**inu-baby123**

Thanks! Here's you update –sorry for the wait- XD

**CaseClosed621**

Lol, I love messing with his head too, it's pretty funny XD! Thanks for the review!

**Sonyadore**

First of all, sorry for the long wait! I just can't seem to get the hang of this.

Haha, yeah, that's the best way I could think of explaining that awkward bit of information XD. Not gonna reply to that 'mystery pianist' comment yet. Lol I loved writing that scene, it's really funny messing with Inuyasha's head.

Thank god! I really thought I was making no sense there! I swear I made a fool out of myself with that reply D:

I think it's great that you created that account (I was gonna suggest that last time ^^) I always enjoy reading your reviews!

**angel**

Haha, yeah it was fun writing it XD

thanks for your review as always! =)

so, this chapter was a real pain. I only checked it twice so if you find any mistakes don't be afraid of letting me know please! It'll certainly improve my English XD

Until next time (this time I'm really not sure when I'll be able to update…)!


	6. Survival of the Fittest

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's my longest chapter ever, I even had to cut it short! D: (been trying to update for a while but fanfiction wouldn't let me... T.T)

Disclaimer: would I be writing a fanfic if I owned Inuyasha? … Though, I'm sure real authors, with _real_ books still write fanfics for fun XD (I know I would Xb)

がんばれ日本! Ganbare Japan! My heart is with you.

**Sengoku Gakuen**

*.*-*.*-*.*

"Mishaps are like knives that either serve or cut us as we

grasp them by the blade or handle."

- James Russell Lowell

*.*-*.*-*.*

Chapter VI- Survival of the Fittest.

_What has gotten into me? __Not even that nagging pervert knew about this! _The young hanyou thought angrily as he descended yet another floor, his quick pace reflecting his agitated mind. His ears twitched as he heard the peculiar beat of Kai's footsteps –yes, he had even _stoop_ to the level of recognizing the barely distinctive sound!- stop momentarily as if hesitating, and he grimaced, not noticing the way most of the frightened guys were now staring at him. Why should he care? So he kept walking, not even realizing that most of the students were abruptly moving out of his way, parting like the Red Sea. His mind was solely fixed on his incompetence; yeah, that little mistake was going to bite his ass later. That, he was sure.

Halfway to his destination he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Kai wasn't following anymore. He didn't know why, but that made him feel even _more_ irritated, _Good riddance_ he told himself adamantly. He couldn't really understand the meaning of all this… this anger. Inuyasha clenched his teeth tightly as yet another scared first year got out of his way. Inuyasha was irritated, _I shouldn't have opened my mouth_ he thought scowling –nothing out of the ordinary- as he made out of the school building, across the beautiful garden that adorned the entrance –deliberately stepping over some exotic flowers on his way, rounded the dorm rooms, finally getting to his own building.

He barely knew the guy and here he was, telling him something not even pestering Miroku knew –and that guy had stuck with him since they were kids (even when he had gone away, Miroku kept sending him letters –with scarce replies-, and insisted on screaming 'Hi, Inuyasha!' _every time_ their mothers spoke over the phone.) and perhaps, now that he thought about it… he should really be thankful, someone else –everyone else- would've given up on him already. How the fuck did he end up tal- thinking about this? Ah right, he rolled his eyes, that annoying pubescent.

Inuyasha sighed, massaging his temples with his thumb and middle finger, tiredly opening the door to his room.

He loosened his tie and slipped it out of his neck, throwing his satchel along the way too. The young man slowly moved to his closet and got a clean red plaid shirt, some old dark jeans and a black leather jacket he'd gotten for his last birthday weeks ago. He hung the dark red school blazer –his favorite part of the uniform-, he unbuttoned his long sleeved white shirt and threw it onto his laundry basket along with his pants, and then proceeded to change. As soon as the hanyou was done, he grabbed his math note book, calculator and a red hat he usually wore out of school, seeing as most people seemed to comment on his ears; whether it was their cuteness or their hideousness. Two extremes he didn't particularly like.

He furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought, and nodded firmly to himself as he came to a conclusion. Yeah, some good quality ramen would definitely clear his mind. It always had.

He walked out of his room mildly aware of the dark grey clouds that were starting to creep into the once blue sky. A couple of Jidai Gakuen girls drooling after him were easily ignored too, once his mind was set on ramen there were few things able to gain his attention. His feet automatically taking him to that old ramen shop; just a few blocks away from Sengoku Gakuen on the opposite route to _The Coffee Shop_, that famous shitty place that didn't even sell ramen. Inuyasha scoffed, thinking of the indecency of _not _selling ramen.

He came across an old wooden handwritten sign and allowed himself a tiny grin; this place was like a second home to him, and the woman inside like a grandmother.

"Hello, Kaede-baachan" he muttered, taking off his hat as he sat on a stool right across her kitchen area. The place was almost empty as usual, the old TV drowning the place with the latest news. The old woman raised her head at the sound of his familiar voice and frown, tilting her head to the side, her eyes silently inspecting him.

"Inuyasha, you've been coming all week, is something wrong child?" she asked while drying some bowls. She had known him since he was a little boy, when she'd work as a cook in his home. She had worked there for years, but once her elder sister had died she quitted in order to take care of this shop that had been the family business for generation. Inuyasha had always been a faithful costumer, dropping by at least twice a week, but lately he'd come every single day –and it was only Wednesday.

"I just –I'm in the mood for ramen, that's all." He muttered staring at his steeple fingers intently. The old woman rolled her eyes, but decided to drop the subject for the time being –he'd be more willing to let it out once his stomach was full.

"When are you not?" she whispered to herself as she got to work on his ramen. "Do you want the special? I've added an extra boiled egg to that one."

"Sure, sounds good." He propped his chin on one hand and drummed against the table with the fingers -claws, actually- of the other, lazily he turned his eyes to the left and came across two grinning demons he did not want to see at the moment. He grimaced, knowing what would come next.

"Inuyasha-sama, long time no see!" His History/English/Homeroom teacher exclaimed happily, while his PE teacher merely waved.

"I just came out of your class… Myoga-jiji." He answered dryly, his eyes drifting back to his drumming fingers. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Kaede-san, how much until my ramen is ready?" Totosai whined, completely ignoring Inuyasha, who furrowed his eyebrows and huffed indignantly. That old man was always either ignoring him or making his life a living hell –without really trying.

"You already ate it, Totosai, don't you remember?" Kaede replied patiently.

"Oh, did I? Well, would you be so kind as to prepare me another one? Somehow I'm still hungry." She nodded while Totosai-sensei's attention went back to the old TV.

"So, how are things going with that new roommate of yours?" Myoga-sensei said, in hopes of staring a new conversation. Inuyasha snorted and rolled his eyes at his sad attempt of making the conversation more interesting. _He just had to choose the touchy subject… _

"You should know, you see me sulking everyday in class. That guy is really annoying; he's driving me up the wall! Very nice old man, now I'm stuck with him for who knows how long..." he said through clenched teeth.

"Inuyasha-sama, he's new; and he doesn't seem to get along with anyone else. I had to do something!" He said desperately, but there was an odd glint in his eyes.

Totosai-sensei snorted besides him. "You're just fol-"

"Look, your noodles are ready!" Myoga-sensei exclaimed, effectively interrupting him. The senile demon blinked and stared at the bowl few a few seconds. Huh, when had he ordered this?

"Oh, Kaede, how nice of you, I was just about to order some" he said while picking his chop sticks and devouring his meal.

_I don't know why my dad keeps these goofs around…_

Inuyasha snorted again, shaking his head "I can't believe you." He said with a huff, turning back to the old lady while pointing at Totosai-sensei. "And how come his order was ready before mine? Can I have my ramen now?"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you." She said simply, her eyes fixed on the steaming noodles sitting next to her.

Inuyasha gave a frustrated groan, his eyes moving from Kaede to his teachers as he tried to –unsuccessfully- contain his irritation. "There's nothing wrong with me! Now would you _please_ just get off by back, you bunch of old geezers. I just came for ramen, alright?" He said through clenched teeth. _Seriously, they act like my personal nannies. I should have just stayed in my room 'till I cooled off. _

Myoga-sensei raised an amused eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so often. "Aren't you being a little immature, Inuyasha-sama?" he said, while Totosai-sensei nodded his head contemptuously.

Inuyasha gave a long tired sigh, ignoring the old man and turning to his last resort. He dropped his ears for a better effect. "Oh come on Kaede-baachan, just give me my bowl, already! I don't wanna talk about it right now." he finally whined, his eyebrows furrowed and his lower lip puckered in an _almost_ pout –Inuyasha Taisho did NOT pout, under any circumstances. He was about to use one of his _other_ tactics (he was not going to go into details, but it was pretty effective), but haltered just as Kaede placed the first steaming bowl of ramen in front of him –yes, because he was never satisfied with just one bowl. Ah, finally. They could pester him to their hearts content, he had ramen now. He took a deep breath, his nose easily detecting all of the ingredients Kaede-baachan had used and grinned contently, now he felt a lot better.

He'd said it before; there was nothing like a steaming bowl of ramen to warm his heart.

Kaede-baachan tried to hide a smile "Fine, but you, young mister, are going to tell me what's really on your mind before you leave my shop, got it?" she said pointing at him with a wooden spoon while he gulped down the noodles.

"Whatever" he muttered reluctantly, his eyes stubbornly fixed on his now half-empty bowl and blinked twice. Wow, that was fast.

There was a few minutes of silence as the old woman tried to "By the way, Inuyasha, are you got to visit her this weekend?" she asked softly. From the corner of her eye she noticed the two old demons turn their way apprehensively. Their young master was known to be touchy over that particular subject.

For once his face was serene, calmed, but his eyes were different, distant. "No. I have weekend detention; here" he mumbled, taking a few bills from his jean's back pocket "Buy her some flower for me, I'll just stop by next weekend."

*.*-*.*-*

It was a slow afternoon, and so Sesshomaru Taisho found himself checking on the medical status of the student population and filling some unimportant paper work. His eyes lingered longer on Kai Higurashi's medical record, and he briefly wondered if the information was slightly modified or plainly fictitious; not that he cared, but it was part of his job to know after all. He heard Jaken's erratic footsteps coming from the small reception area, and repressed the urge to grimaced, that lowly demon did not have a single drop of grace in his body.

"Sesshomaru-sama, you have a call." The toad demon submissively said as he bowed politely, cradling the phone in his small hands tightly. "uh, it seems important."

Sesshomaru simply extended his hand, not looking up from his paper work; Higurashi's record, to be precise. "Hello" was his sharp reply. There was a brief moment in which the only sound heard was the muffled voice on the other side of the receiver. "Oh, it's you. Is there a reason why you're calling me?" another brief pause as he grabbed another file "I see. Yes, I met her on Monday, very clumsy girl if I may say so. She's the daughter of that man, is she not? I knew her face was familiar." He commented while turning to the next record, filling the medical status of another one of the students, the conversation not breaking his concentration in the minimum.

His eyebrows furrowed for the fraction of a second, his right hand gripping the pen tighter. "You want me to waste my time like that? I most certainly do not wish to-" there was another paused as the man on the other side of the phone quickly said a few world and Sesshomaru listened to the man´s proposal arching an eyebrow. "… go on."

"Very well. I will do whatever I can then." He said, hanging up shortly after. He raised his head to regard his 'assistant' with a concealed look of annoyance. "Jaken, make sure the fighting arena is empty every evening after seven."

"May I inquire why, Sesshomaru-sama." He asked tentatively, surely his master would tell him, right? It was highly suspicious. He was never this easy to convince, and that conversation had been rather short. Sure, they had communication issues, but his master would definitely not leave him in the dark, right?

Who was he kidding?

Sesshomaru felt like groaning, but that would not go well with his image, so he send Jaken a piercing glare instead, effectively shutting the toad demon up. "Just do it."

*.*-*.*-*

What was wrong with life? Was it too much to ask to hide in peace? Ah, what would she give for a few months of blissful tranquility; but no, he dad had to choose the weirdest place to hide. Kagome frowned, staring out of the window, the slight drizzle slowly but surely humidifying the window glass.

That boy was very stupid.

Kagome sighed, cradling the steaming mug of coffee. The strong smell slowly calming her down, leaving her _slightly_ happier; she had once read somewhere that hot drinks promoted warm feelings, and she sure as hell needed some of those right now. She let the steaming substance roll around her tongue for a few seconds, embracing the distinctive taste, before swallowing.

Why was life so ironic?

"You don't seem very happy." She heard a voice say from her right and her eyes moved from the window to the person standing next to her table –one of the waitresses, she noticed. She had brown hair tied in a high ponytail and was regarding her… or rather him, with a curious expression. Kagome tilted her head, where had she seen that girl before? Curse her inability to remember faces -and names.

"I –uh, I kinda had a small disagreement with someone." She mumbled playing with the salt and pepper containers idly. "It's a long story." Why did people say that anyway? Hers wasn't a long story, was that just a mechanism to attract attention?

_I need to get a life…_

The girl looked around the café; he was the only one on her section and her manager had left to attend some 'important matters', so what the hell? "I've got time." She said shrugging.

That was not what she was expecting..._ I guess I can use this opportunity to get some advise,_ _anyway, how much would it hurt to vent a little?_

"Fine. Let's create a hypothetical situation, ok?" she didn't want to give unnecessary information, though speaking elusively about the Shikon no tama was nearly impossible. Hmm, which could be the easiest –safe- approach?

She waited for the girl to nod.

"Well, as a random, nonspecific example… Let's say I secretly had a djinn" at the girl's confused look Kagome clarified "–a genie as most people call them, in my power; but that dji- genie only granted one wish. You'd have to think that wish thoroughly, because there are always too many loopholes. One single mistake, one wrong move and that wish can end up in a catastrophe, and then there is no way to take that back. But no one thinks about that, they only want that wish with no care about the consequences. So… the point is, there's a lot of people after my genie; because, let's face it, to anyone else but me it sound amazing, right?" She said arching an eyebrow. The waitress nodded eagerly, looking around the restaurant once before shamelessly taking a seat in front of her.

"So, what's wrong with having a genie then?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat. Here she was, in front of a guy, and he was not even hitting on her, instead he was telling her a fairytale. Yup, a breath _of fresh air_.

"I'll get to that, don't worry" she said with the flick of her wrist "You can't ask for money, or fame, or power" she said absently, knowing that it was impossible to get money out of thin air, it had to come from somewhere –the Shikon no tama, too, worked under _some _empirical laws of physics, after all -, and well… fame and power would drive you mad, eventually; and then there was the thing that people wanted to avoid the most; death. "And you certainly can't bring back the dead –at least not completely. Ah, let's not forget there is always the weird megalomaniac who wishes for immortality too." She laughed dryly, staring at her cup of coffee. "Humans, demons… they are all so greedy, hence, that's the first thing that'll come into their minds."

The waitress frowned, rewinding the conversation a little bit "Why not completely?" At Kagome's blank look, the girl rolled her eyes "Bring back the dead."

Kagome sighed, grabbing the salt and pepper shakers and separated them, using the black shaker to pose as the body and the white one as the soul "Because… let's say I still have the body but the soul has already been reincarnated, would it be right to kill that person just so the soul can go back to its rotten body? I say kill because there is no way of knowing if one can take only half the soul. And, if –by any chance- the soul hasn't been through the wheel of Samsara yet, where could I get a vessel for that soul? I'm just assuming right now, because there is no way for me to know if this is possible after all."

"I can see the logic in that." She said nodding "So, what's the point of having that genie if you can't use it?"

The short haired girl laughed sourly. "No idea. I suppose to keep it from falling in the wrong hands." _But there is scarcely so much I could do to protect this thing; I'm only human, after all._ She thought, taking a sip from her coffee.

The girl sitting in front of her frowned in contemplation, her job long forgotten. "I see… but, what's the point of this story?" she asked tilting her head.

_The point__…? _Kagome's elbow slipped from the table and she hesitated for a second. "Oh, right. It's kinda difficult to explain, but I have this history assignment about myths and well my classmate and I got into a discussion regarding the usages of said djinn, anyway… I need to get into the story, know what I mean?" the other girl just nodded uncertainly, as she saw the boy get back into his storytelling role. "Well long story short, we got into a tiny argument because… our views don't really coincide, we're like water and oil. One last thing, I just need to ask your opinion; this hypothetical person –who really wants this- doesn't know I carry that genie with me so; there is no imminent danger at the moment. My question is: should I automatically consider him an enemy or try to understand his reasons? You know, hypothetically speaking, of course."

The girl chuckled, shaking her head. This guy was getting too involved with his project "I think you should detach yourself from the situation and just watch it unwind. See where it goes; don't act yet, because you have a biased opinion, you think everyone going after your genie is up to no good. Just be cautiously optimistic or something, give it a chance but don't let your guard down. Well… that's what I think." The girl finished, nodding to herself and then smiled slightly. "So… you got all of this by having a disagreement with someone else?" she asked, grinning teasingly.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'm making a mountain out of a tiny, little harmless grain, anyway, I'm a pessimist just like that; but thanks for listening, I really needed to take that off my chest." Kagome said smiling sincerely, her eyes drifted to the window again and she missed the tiny smile, the light blush and the barely suppressed look of surprised delight that crossed the girl's features. Maybe this guy wasn't like all the other ones she'd met; not once did his eyes drifted anywhere below her chin.

"Why… are you looking at me like that?" she heard the boy ask cautiously, his head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Ah, nothing, nothing." She said smiling, but then frowned in disappointment when her eyes moved to the door. "I need to go, my boss just came back. I guess I'll just see you around, bye." She said, giving her a sincere grin and a wave. She waited long enough for Kagome to wave back before she left.

It was a few minutes after the waitress had left that she remembered just who she was. _Wasn't she… that Sango girl?_ She hadn't associated them before because this girl was completely opposed of the one she saw yesterday. Huh, she was a nice girl, and that was a fairly interesting conversation.

_I should have this conversation with him eventually. _

Eh? Where did that come from?

_I suppose everyt__hing will be alright as long as… as long as Inuyasha doesn't discover the fact that I have in my possession his ultimate desire, no big deal._

Probably from the same place _that_ had come from.

_I need to stop thinking_ Kagome finished her coffee –which she'd already paid- and left the cozy restaurant, clutching her blazer close to her body as the light rain hit her face.

*.*-*.*-*

She sighed, patiently exiting the locker room and walking toward the bleachers, a book safely hidden in her PE jacket. It had been two days and neither Inuyasha nor she was determined to give in. Oh, no, she was good at giving people the cold shoulder, and if her roommate didn't want to talk to the likes of her then… she would not bother trying to start a conversation. Although, she did feel a bit guilty and she had no idea why. Sighing again, she blocked those thoughts. At least she hadn't been plagued by nightmares since Tuesday; sure, she'd been having a restless sleep, waking up every hour or so, but that was considerably better than those nightmares, even if those dark circles under her eyes begged to differ.

It was finally the end of a long week, a long first week, and what better way to end it than an exciting PE class. Kagome was sitting quietly and successfully unnoticed on the bleachers, a Jules Verne novel sitting on her lap.

She rolled her sleeves up to the elbows -to prevent blood stains, of course- as she lazily looked to her left seeing a mass of students entering the gymnasium and her eyes widened. What was going on? Most of those kids weren't even second year students. She quickly checked her schedule. Yep, this was her next class. She looked up again, trying to find a familiar face. Yep, that was Jakotsu… flirting with Inuyasha, who looked just about to snap. Kagome felt a small grin crept up her face. Ha, it was always amusing to witness these events.

"Hey, what's up? You've been really quiet since Wednesday, is something wrong Kai?" she jumped and turned, finding Shippo and Miroku walking in her direction. She was about to reply when the taller boy interrupted her. He seemed serious and tense.

"Don't bother; both of them have stubbornness issues, Shippo. If Inuyasha didn't tell us, it's only rational to assume Kai won't either." Miroku said dryly as he walked past them. " Stubborn as mules" they heard him mutter under his breath and Kagome raised an eyebrow. Surely she was not _that_ stubborn... Persistent, yes. But stubborn? That was Inuyasha's quality.

"What's up with him? And what are you guys doing here?" she asked tilting her head.

Shippo simply shrugged "He was already in a sour mood when I met him outside." He said standing next to her and she awkwardly got to her feet as she reiterated her second question. "Didn't you know? Today's 'Collective P.E day' that means two classes of every year get to have P.E together. It really sucks, because I'm a first year and sometimes they pair me up with upperclassmen." Shippo explained sulkily, his hand unconsciously rising to pinch the bridge of his nose. "And… I have a knack for losing. That's why I hate Fridays" he muttered dejectedly. Kagome placed a hand on the –surprisingly- shorter boy and gave him an encouraging smile. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

_So… this happens every Friday, huh?_

Kagome glance around the gym noticing how most of the students had some sort of weapon with them. Huh, weird. Her eyes stopped on a light haired boy standing in a corner, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising. The feeling was very familiar to the one she had nights ago but not quite the same. He turned to her, his silvery pink bangs covering his eyes and she gulped, clenching her fists tensely.

"Who's that guy?" she asked Shippo quietly, her eyes still locked with the other boy.

"Him? Juromaru? No no, don't look at him so bluntly! God, are you suicidal! Break eye contact!" he whispered harshly, making exaggerated hand gestures to compliment his agitated speech. Kagome just gave him a look and he continued. "I've seen how vicious he can get when he's out for blood." She frowned, staring at the floor in deep thought. He gave her a bad feeling alright, it was just not as strong as the one she had felt before and she felt slightly uneasy. She blinked, trying to clear her mind; surely that guy was just… misunderstood, right? A victim of circumstances, as some people said. "He's really creppy, there are even some rumors that he goes every night to the underground gym. I mean, why would he do that? And why do you ask?" Shippo said in a conspiratory tone, inching closer with every word. In all truth, he'd never spoken to the guy- could he even speak? He didn't care, he'd been in this school for a month and a half and he was already terrified by most of the school's population. These days it didn't pay to be smart.

He saw Kai next to him tighten his lips, frowning pensively. "Nothing, I just have a bad feeling about… he- why is he wearing that metal-like mouth mask?" how could she not notice before? It _was_ a kinda flashy detail.

"Beats me" he said shrugging. "Though the way he's staring so intently at you is kinda nerve-wracking…" Shippo said, fidgeting a little. He was about to sneak his way into another less creepier topic –weather, perhaps? - and sighed in relief when their old, senile teacher barged into the gym.

"Hello peeps" he said rubbing his hands together in barely restrain excitement. "A few announcements before we begin. Remember next Friday is Pandemonium Friday, and the next one is the last day of the cultural festival, and thus, we're having our own little tournament!" he suddenly paused, staring off into space for a few never-ending seconds. "What was I saying again?" he asked, idly scratching his head, a contemplative expression on his face.

In all honesty, was he the _only_ one qualified for this job? Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head faintly. There was something fishy about this. "Ugh, I hate pandemonium Friday!" she heard Shippo mumble in a dejected tone. Huh, he seemed to hate any kind of competition. Poor kid.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes "The tournament, old man." Seriously, why couldn't he just retire? Surely he was old enough… by a couple dozen years (centuries perhaps?).

"Right, right. As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," he said glaring at the silver haired hanyou disdainfully. _What the fuck! I was just trying to help! _"Today we'll have a little warm up for next week's class. You may pair up if you want, I don't really care. Questions?"

Kagome tentatively raised her hand "What are the rules?"

"Ah, newbie, this would be your first time, huh?" she nodded, still uncertain. Totosai-sensei adopted a pensive look, bringing a finger to tap his nose lightly. "Anything goes. Oh. No, wait. I keep forgetting it. No killing, you'll be automatically disqualified –and suspended for a month; we don't want any legal drama... well the big boss, that is. I could really careless." He said giving a carefree wave.

_I-i__s he serious?_

At Kai's pale face, Shippo leaned closer to whisper "We've had some unfortunate accidents... no deaths yet, though." He said with an air of indifference. Though one had to wonder if that statement was as nonchalant as he wanted it to sound, he seemed like an easy target after all.

_I guess this means he was being serious…_

"Shippo" she said, looking directly at the smaller boy "you and I work together, ok?"

"Ok" he said, fisting his hand determinately. If they paired together they might had a chance of getting out of this relatively unharmed.

"Okay kiddies; grab your armors, weapons, whatever you have and get ready to rumble!" Their teacher grinned gleefully; at last, after a long week it was finally time for a bit of chaos and mayhem, if only for an hour. "Let the chao- games BEGIN!" Totosai-sensei yelled loudly, extending his arms to the sky as he posed magnificently. As soon as those words were said, all hell broke loose. Most of the human boys were running like headless chickens while most of the demon population ignored them, fighting humans was for sissies –unless they were fighting the band of seven, or Shichinintai, as they called themselves; that was always an interesting fight.

This was nothing like her previous PE lesson, yeah a weird wild game it had been, but nothing like this. Kagome took a deep breath, not feeling nearly as confident as she was trying to appear. She quickly ducked when a body went flying past her, Shippo quickly following suit. "S-so, what's the plan?" she stuttered, grimacing when a human boy fell next to her, a purple bruise on his cheek and a scratch on his left shin.

Oh yeah, she was stuck in the middle of chaos.

"Uh, how 'bout… remaining as invisible as possible? It works sometimes." Shippo offered grinning half-heartedly. He turned his head to the guy lying next to her, who was whimpering as he tried to soothe the pain on his leg. "Oh, hey Nobunaga. What's up?" the dark haired boy looked up and smiled in recognition, he gave a tiny wave and was about to retort when his eyes widened and he quickly ducked again, barely avoiding an approaching fire attack.

Her eyes widened considerably _wa-was that really Totosai-sensei? _She thought horrified as she saw the old teacher merrily spitting fire out of his mouth every now and then.

Shooting a look past Nobunaga, where another boy –Hakkaku… or Ginta? She wasn't really sure- had taken the blow and now was angrily looking for the culprit while rubbing his head. Kagome turned anxiously to Shippo they _would_ get out of here unharmed. "Er –Sounds good enough, we can use the bleachers as an improvised shelter"

"Sure, let's camouflage, we can hopefully get there unnoticed." He said, taking the limp body of an unconscious student as a made up shield. Nice.

Kagome awkwardly grab Nobunaga by the back of his shirt and placing him in front of her hurriedly followed the young fox demon.

"Uh, I'm quite conscious… you're aware of that, right?" Nobunaga asked uncertainly while glancing back at her with a raised eyebrow, after a second his eyes moved to the front once again.

She frowned, wasn't it obvious? "Of course I am. I can't possibly carry a… 190 pounds?-"

"185, actually" he corrected inattentively, his eyes warily taking in his surroundings.

"Right, a 185 pound guy by myself." She commented, pushing him forward. "I'm actually helping you by bringing you along." She said, defiantly walking across the highly dangerous battle field –now she had a shield and a soon-to-be safe haven under the bleachers, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

"So Nobunaga, how's Hiyoshimaru?" Shippo asked casually as they kept avoiding the big fights. The clumsy guy nervously looked around before answering. "Oh, he's fine, monking around, as usual. He hasn't gotten me into trouble lately."

Shippo chuckled, his eyes drifted to the ceiling in remembrance. "Remember that time when the cafeteria food kept mysteriously disappearing?" Nobunaga grinned but didn't comment any further while Kagome frowned, feeling confused –and a bit left out of the conversation.

As the little trio –plus the unconscious random student- were nearing their soon to be hiding place, they heard one group of upper class student chatting idly, a tense Miroku fighting close by.

"How are things with that Sango girl, sir?" she heard one of the boys ask loudly. Very subtle.

"Good, good. I'm doing quite a progress." The one who appeared to be their leader said ostentatiously, his body language screaming 'arrogance'. He grinned maliciously, raising his voice slightly "I just want to bang her brains out, anyone can have her after that." he commented cockily, his eyes drifting to Miroku knowingly. He scowled, feeling his fists clenching tightly as his eyes narrowed dangerously into slits. That was it; the arrogant snob had been bad mouthing Sango-chan and yet gloating about his progress all day long. Now that last comment had stroke a raw nerve.

Kagome frowned, not liking this guy one bit. Not a fraction of a second later her eyes widened drastically and her jaw almost hit the floor as she saw calm and collected Miroku throw himself at Kuranosuke and punch him square in the face, all the time growling very much like Inuyasha. She heard Shippo mutter 'That's something you don't see everyday' while Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms across his chest; the guy _did_ have a backbone after all. He smirked when he heard the distinctive crack of a nose breaking.

"This is about a piece of ass?" Takeda Kuranosuke asked in mocked disbelief, raising his eyebrows in fake surprise; though, the constant blood dripping from his nose ruined the image. Kagome scoffed, already feeling repulsion for this guy; true, she had only talked once to the girl, but she seemed like a nice person.

"Don't call her that." Miroku said wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. This guy was asking for it, speaking about _his_ Sango-chan that way. He lunged back with a mixture of punches and kicks that Kuranosuke could scarcely avoid. "Stay out!" Kuranosuke growled as some of his buddies tried to ambush Miroku. This was his fight after all.

"That's the enthusiasm I was talking about!" she heard Totosai-sensei yell merrily over the cacophony of the fights all around the gym.

"Oh man, this is priceless!" she heard Koga exclaim as the other two wolf demons grinned, nodding in agreement. Both of them winced a second later, feeling the pain of their wounds. Their eyes connected for a second and the wolf demon scowled, quickly breaking eye contact with her.

"Shouldn't someone try to stop them?" Kagome casually asked, looking back at Shippo, who shrugged and tried to move forward to stop them, only to be elbowed by Miroku on the gut accidentally. "…or not." She whispered, sending Shippo an apologetic look. Nobunaga placed an understanding hand on Shippo's shoulder; he'd been on that side of a punch… many times.

"As long as no one gets killed it's alright." She heard Inuyasha mutter. When had he gotten here? Last time she'd check, he was on the other side of the enormous room. He had an old, seemingly rusty sword hanging from a belt on his left hip, something she had not seen before. She almost gasped as saw Inuyasha frown and jump high in the air.

Very high.

"Inu-chan, so glad to see you" he barely had time to move before an eccentric sword hit the spot where he'd been. "Let's see if you unsheathe your sword this time!" the peculiar guy roared merrily as he tried to cut him once again.

"Jakotsu! I was trying to see that fight!" he snapped as his claws cut through the skin of his hand, better make this fast. "Hijinkessou" Inuyasha screamed as the blades of blood flew directly to his intended target. Jakotsu let out a happy squeal –and at that Kagome frowned skeptically- as his sword deflected the attack with some difficulty.

"Come on!" he whined, readying himself for a new attack "I want to see if your sword is as big as mine."

She heard someone chuckle behind her, she turned her head and found Miroku, with a black eye and a few bruises here and there. "I just love Jakotsu's double entendres." He said grinning slightly. "Did you know he's been hitting on Inuyasha ever since last year?"

She decided to just ignore that comment. "Done already?" she said raising her eyebrows, her eyes going back to Inuyasha's fight.

Miroku snorted. "Yeah, that snob doesn't know how to fight. At all." She held back a laugh and refrained from pointing out his black eye.

"Who do we have here." Kagome felt a shiver run down her spine –something that seemed to be happening a lot lately- at the tone of voice and turned her head to glance at the two demons smirking down at Shippo. One of them was stunningly attractive while the other was, well, not so attractive "Uh oh" she heard her friend mutter.

"Who are they?" she asked Miroku quietly as her eyes drifted from Inuyasha to Shippo and those demons.

"Hiten and Manten. The one with the black braided hair is Hiten, the older one –they are siblings- while the one with a face only a mother could love is Manten" she heard Miroku reply, his eyes narrowed slightly, and she ignored his rude comment, for once agreeing with him. "They have a bit of a disagreement with Shippo."

She watched as Manten, the disturbingly ugly demon punched Shippo in the gut, taking pleasure in the little guy's pain. "That's for getting too close to my lil' sister, you brat!" he sneered as Shippo tried futilely to fight back. He tried desperately to hit him with his fox fire but Manten merely laugh it off, sending a blow to his head, stepping aside when the boy hit the floor. "And _that_ is for being a smartass! That'll teach you to watch your mouth. Don't think I forgot what you said on Monday, huh?" He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, his work was done; he'd leave the dirty work to his brother.

Kagome quickly leaned closer to Miroku "What happened on Monday?"

"Uh, Shippo got into a verbal fight with them. They have this wrong impression… thinking Shippo and Souten are actually going out, and well… Shippo just snapped. That's why Inuyasha was trying to knock some sense into him that day." He answered casually, yet his eyes were worriedly fixed on Shippo.

_Ah, that bruised lip really was for nothing…_she thought miserably, half-heartedly focusing again on the 'fight', the very one-sided fight, and frowned. Where was the other demon? She moved her eyes from left to right, scanning the place for any trace. Nothing.

She felt a gust of wind and looked up, finally founding her target.

Kagome's eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. He, that Hiten guy, he had a long staff with a sharp end; lightning emanating from the tip, and … was he flying? Granted, it was probably because of those weird flaming wheels on his feet, but flying anyway. And he was heading straight to Shippo. A barely conscious Shippo at that. And so she ran as fast as her legs could take her, ignoring Miroku's yells and barely getting there in time to tackle Shippo to the floor just when he was getting up. There had to be something she could be able to do to help him. Ah right, that spiritual force field… but it was too risky, she didn't have enough time. She needed to control her spiritual powers but right now her emotions were running high, and she couldn't concentrate. So she stood there, her feet engraved to the floor, her body paralyzing with dread, akin to a tree about to be struck by lightning.

Hiten gave a sick little smirk –one that made her flesh crawl-, not hesitating for a moment and Kagome felt a familiar sense of fear in her heart. _This is it._ On the last second she raised her left arm to protect herself while her body shielded Shippo's. Just when she felt the sharp metal begin to scrap her skin, she heard a roar, the pain in her forearm intensifying for a second.

And then it stopped.

"Are you out of your fucking mind! He's only human, jackass!" he spat staring at Hiten, a disbelieving frown on his face; equally annoyed he turned back to glare at the boy sprawled next to the terrified Shippo "And you, what the _fuck_ is wrong with your sense of self-preservation?" he angrily exclaimed, stomping his foot on the floor for emphasis. Kagome gulped, her heart still hammering painfully against her chest, her emotions still running high as she brought her uninjured arm to rest over her forehead; she could've been the first casualty ever.

_All in all, it could have been worse… a lot worse._

"Well, that could have been a lot worse" Shippo shakily voiced her thoughts, slowly standing up and helping Kai, who was absently cradling his wounded arm tenderly. She could feel blood creeping through her fingers, and Shippo stared at her worriedly. "You better get that wound treated."

"I'll go in a minute" she breathed, trying not to sound too amazed as she stared at Inuyasha's back baffled. Who could ever understand how his mind worked? They spend two days ignoring each other, she was sure he hated her and yet, he kept helping her. His words said something yet his actions demonstrated something completely different.

At that moment she decided she would listen to Sango's advice. Maybe the boy was not that bad, hell, maybe they could even get along –but that would take time… and perhaps an incredible amount of patience.

"You filthy hanyou!" Hiten snapped taking flight again, and distracting her from her thoughts. "Mere trash cannot defeat me!"

"You insolent little fucker!" Inuyasha yelled clenching his fists and leaping after him. "I'll show you who'll end up as a pile of shit!" _so poetic _she thought wryly.

Yeah, it would take a whole lot of patience.

"Oh, yeah? Show me what you got _puppy_" he spat disdainfully as Inuyasha flexed his fingers threateningly, blood already dripping from his claws as he prepared his next attack.

Well, she was willing to give it a try.

*.*-*.*-*

*Baachan: granny

Agh, now I understand why people take months to update!

I had one of the most boring weeks of my life –and my life has been pretty uneventful lately. My aunt went out of the country and left me in charge of her house, that included my grandma and my sort of great grandpa, who kept complaining that he was gonna die Every. Freaking. Hour – he's a 100… and I bet he's going to be the one who will bury me- and it was a pain! There is no internet, no cable, one of the TV's has 13 channels –only 6 work, and the TV has no remote (it was made BEFORE the remote control was even invented T-T )- and the other TV doesn't really work…. So yeah, I read a lot. I was supposed to stay until Friday but then my aunt called and said she would stay there until Monday _because of a party_.

(Ok that was like 3-4 weeks ago, but it still counts as a boring experience, right? … right?)

So, please be nice a leave a review T-T **sucky? Not sucky? (any thoughts you want to share?)**

Interesting discoveries (maybe?) next chapter, plus Saturday's date with Rin and her friends.

Mistakes? Let me know. I barely read it once… so…

P.S: I, uh, I might not update for a while… classes started last week, and university seems to suck the life out of me.

Oh by the way thanks for the reviews! 8D

Angel, CasedClosed621, Inuyashalover4ever, Sonyadore, Inuyashalovergirl4ever

And thanks to everyone else for reading, as long as you like it I'm happy.

Until next time,

Creature of the Grid.


	7. For the Love of a Good Dog

I'm really really sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been drowning in endless essays these last three months… it has been a horrible nightmare T.T Needless to say, I flunked one (make that two… T.T) of my courses, and I kinda feel like crap because it (one of them) was an annual course. It really was a tough semester… so, _please_ don't be mad at this late update.

By the way, thanks for all those kind reviews. Thank you very much: Angel, CaseClosed621, WezL, Inuyashalovergirl4ever, PriestessTeeTee, number-1-first-and-only, frozen water droplet, kawaiiemichan, and thanks for all those favorites and alerts, and really, just thanks for reading. I'm really sorry if I didn't answer any of them but really… I have the attention span of a drunk fly. (what's with me and the word 'really' today…?)

I have a tiny question; I should've split this long chapter into two smaller ones, right? I feel slightly nervous.

**Sengoku Gakuen**

*.*-*.*-*.*

"My dog, she looks at me sometimes with that look,  
and I think maybe deep down inside she must know exactly how I feel.  
But then maybe she just wants the food off my plate."

- Unknown.

*.*-*.*-*.*

**Chapter VII- For the Love of a Good Dog**

"Higurashi, got into a fight again, I presume? That's twice in your first week." Sesshomaru Taisho commented as he saw her enter the nurse's office clutching her slightly bloodied arm. He ceased his paperwork, moving to close –and lock- the door behind her. He turned to her and grabbed her injured arm in one quick yet careful movement; and after a few seconds of silence, spoke. "Jaken, go get me some hydrogen peroxide, some bacitration ointment to clean this wound, and some gauze" he said after inspecting the gash closely "it's just a superficial incision." She got hit by a sense of déjà vu, hadn't he said something remotely similar on Monday? Did he solve everything with that ointment? The toad demon hurried, barely yelling a 'Right away, Sesshomaru-sama!', and Kagome tilted her head to the side, vaguely thinking _this frog really seems to venerate the school's doctor. Maybe they have some sort of…forbidden relationship? …Nah._ Kagome shook her head, smiling to herself.

She heard him speak to himself, something about her lip being mostly healed; something clicked inside Kagome' brain as she remembered his previous comment and quickly snapped out of her daydreams, waving frantically her hands in front of her. "I-it was not a real fight Taisho-sensei, just Physical Education. I, uh… I've noticed Totosai-sensei can be very… liberal with his teaching methods." she corrected him politely; didn't want to get a wrong impression after all.

"Hm, he does have the most unorthodox methods," he said, nodding almost imperceptibly. "That was a really rough one, I see. Kuranosuke, along with other twenty wimps, came earlier with some minor injuries too." He commented casually as he treated her wound with professional precision, mechanically, as he had done for the last five years of his life. He first cleaned the cut with the hydrogen peroxide, the liquid making small white bubbles at the contact with her dirtied skin. Once the wound was clean and disinfected, he proceeded to carefully rub the ointment around the cut, and then flawlessly cover it with gauze.

Kagome sighed apprehensively, her eyes moving sideways to avoid eye contact with the toad demon due to the fact that he had moved to sit in a chair close by and was staring at her intently while the doctor finished bandaging her wound. Once he was done, he moved to his desk and opened one of the drawers, taking out a yellow file and staring at its contents thoughtfully. That simple act had drawn her attention back to him. There was a brief silence, in which she could feel the atmosphere getting heavy, something in the doctor's body language adverted her of something critical about to take place. Kagome fidgeted nervously as Sesshomaru raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Higurashi" he started, his tone demanding seriousness "I need to discuss some issues with you." Kagome froze, nodding hesitantly in understanding. An alarming red light blinked on in her head, warning her that this was something she wouldn't like. No, she was just imagining things, wasn't she? There was just no way he could know anything that would endanger her identity anymore, right? But then he uttered those dreadful words. "Your name, your real one, is Higurashi Kagome, isn't it?"

_Curse my bad luck__._

Kagome could've sworn her heart stopped beating for a moment, how could he…? Why was it so easy to discover all of her secrets, damnit! She opened her mouth to lie, to deny that horrible truth to hell, heck, just a simple no would do, but somehow nothing came out. There was no telling what he would do to her if he knew she was lying, besides, it had been a week since he'd discover her secret and he hadn't said a word yet. Perhaps he _was_ helping her, so there was no need to lie… right? "H-how did you…?" she managed to stutter after what seemed like hours.

"I thought your face seemed familiar, so I did a little research-"

Kagome's eyes widened drastically as she waved her hands wildly, effectively gaining his attention, and even though he glared at her, he stopped so she could verbally express her disbelief. "Whoa, wait! You mean we've _met_ before?" she asked horrified, _T-that means…_

_That means I've met his brother before too…_

"Yes, once but you were too young to remember. It was in our summer house more than twelve years ago."

"That means I've met your brother before too, right? How come he hasn't said anything about it? Wait! That would mean he knows I'm a girl too!" Kagome exclaimed horrified. What would it take to stop people from finding out!

The dog demon pursed his lips in contempt both, at the irritation of being constantly interrupted and at the mention of Inuyasha _being his brother._ "Half brother, yes, and while your scent might be familiar to him too, I don't believe he remembers you either, so calm down. Now, don't interrupt me." He said as he sat down on his desk chair and interlocked his fingers in front of his face, adopting a pensive look "As I was saying, I did a little background check" He took a few photographs from the file, along with a torn news paper article. "It says here that you died the same day Kentarou Higurashi did. I found that article rather intriguing, seeing as it doesn't state the cause of your death, just how devastating your family was at losing two of their members in one day." He gave her a piercing look and Kagome gulped. Yeah, leave it to her dad… his amazing 'foolproof' plan was full of loopholes! "What really caught my attention was a really interesting call I received a few days ago, stating that _I_ should train you so that you could have better chances at surviving here. How-"

"So, are you going to be like… my mentor?" she interrupted once more, grinning slightly at the idea. That… wouldn't be so bad.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly "However, I would not be burdened with such activities." He said slowly, finishing his previous statement. "I believe I told you not to interrupt me Higurashi, and no, Jaken will be your instructor, I will be in charge of supervising you progress."

"…Huh?"

"Don't worry," he said, wrongly taking her confusion as skepticism "Jaken is qualified enough to deal with it. Besides," he added slowly, his eyes speaking volumes "he knows when to keep his mouth shut." She heard the green demon gulp audibly, an action that made her bit back a smile.

"Now, as I was saying, I will be in charge of your training. Practice will be held four times a week, I will choose the days that fit the best with my schedule, and I won't accept excuses for any absence, am I understood?" Kagome nodded meekly, already feeling the pressure of band practice, training sessions, and the long hours she'd have to devote to get decent grades. Sesshomaru moved to open the door once more. "Higurashi." He said, not bothering to look at her. "We'll start on Monday, maybe with enough practice you'll be able defend yourself. Gymnasium, eight pm sharp; don't be late." His hand gripped the doorknob as he paused momentarily to send her a warning look. "And, refrain from making this a public issue if you can."

She shakily stood up, nodding as best as she could while she begged her legs to _move_, and once she was close enough, she heard Jaken mutter disdainfully "It seems like your father has friends in high places, huh?" Kagome furrowed her eyebrows but kept walking, quickly leaving the nurse's office behind.

_It… it seems like he does__… _She thought as she speed-walked far away from their disdainful glares, cold stares, and amazing deductive skills.

Once she was far enough, she paused to catch her breath. "Well… that… that was bizarre –to say the least." She muttered to herself as she returned to the gym, her stuff was still there after all. Once she located her satchel, she made her way to the –now deserted- changing room. Kagome quickly washed her face and changed out of her dirty –and slightly bloodied- P.E. uniform and into the school clothes.

_But__ now I'll be able to defend myself _she though grinning giddily. _Though, I… really hope they don't kill me. _Her brain added, quickly deflating her mood. _Although, I'll have to take my chances if I want to become stronger –and, well, if I want to survive at all another P.E lesson or the Pandemonium thingy..._

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. _That's weird; no one ever calls me, unless it is…_ she glanced at the screen and grimaced, flipping the phone open. Yeah, she knew by heart that sequence of numbers. "Yes, Rin?"

"What, no greetings? How rude… how did you know it was me? As far as I know, that phone is new." She said, and Kagome felt her pout through the phone.

"Unlike other people I do memorize important numbers." She replied dryly as she left the school building behind, heading over to the dormitories with a lazy pace.

"How cute, you think I'm important!" she heard her cousin coo through the phone and she grimaced; Rin had a funny way of twisting words and change the meaning of whatever she heard.

"I didn't say that. Besides, you're calling me from your home number, that's the one I memorized"

"Never mind, I know that deep down you do love me. You still up for tomorrow?" her cousin asked in a chirpy voice.

_Huh? Tomorrow? _"Tomorro- oh! Yeah, I guess." She mustered, inwardly bringing a hand to scratch the back of her neck sheepishly. Thankfully Rin couldn't see that, scratch that, hopefully she wouldn't be able to detect her tiny slip.

"… You forgot, didn't you?" Rin asked flatly. It wouldn't be the first time, with the attention span she had, it was a wonder she was still alive.

_Would you look at that, she did notice… I should really practice my lying skills._

"Well, Rin… forget… forget is a very strong word, you know."

"Kagome-chan" said girl flinched, quickly looking around, doing a 360 in search for any demon with super enhanced hearing. Oh dear Buddha, he cousin and her awful unconscious slips. Somewhat less paranoid – and telling herself demons couldn't have that good of a hearing (right?)-, and remembering most of the guys must've been in the cafeteria, none of them missed the little snack time after school after all. Well, she'll let this one slide; it was partly her fault Rin had recurred to use her real name. _Real name… _That thought send a shiver running down her spine. _If Taisho-sensei found out so quick –and easily, it means anyone with good deductive skill could find out just as easily, right? No. No, I'm overthinking it- _

Noticing the long silence, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts "Uh… Ok, fine. I forgot. Sorry, I really had a rough week." She said apologetically.

"Well, as long as you show up." Rin said with a fake warning voice, leaving Kagome to laugh at her sad attempt at being menacing. "Well" she started, trying to hold a laugh too; Kagome's laughter was always contagious –even if she was laughing at her. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye bye cycle"*

"Bye, Rin." Kagome sighed, smiling as she closed her phone, immediately ending the call. Well, at least now she'd get to watch some TV, maybe get some homewo –nah, she'd leave that for Sunday. It had been a long day, a long week at that, and she wanted to rest. She looked at her bandaged arm and smiled wearily. Yeah, today she deserved some rest.

*-*.*-*.*-*

Curse stupid people and their stupid rigorous training schedules! _Hurry up, hurry up, hurry uuuuuup _She repeated that mantra with the hopes that it would bring Inuyasha instantly. Teleport him, perhaps.

Kagome was, for once, impatiently waiting for her roommate to come back from his workout session. Why? Well, because rest hadn't come easy and so she had found herself paying attention to the little sounds coming from the balcony, needless to say… she had finally discovered what the mysterious noise she'd been listening all week was. _Well,_ she thought smirking _at least now I know why the balcony was off limits._ She thought from her crouched position in the floor while staring at the prisoner in her hands.

She heard the door open and her eyes widened in suppressed excitement _finally! _ "Wan-chan, you're back!" she said turning her head slightly so he could see her smirk.

Inuyasha closed the door and lean against it, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. _Not good… I knew going easy on him during PE would spoil him! _"Would you stop calling me that already?" Kagome ignored him, feeling too happy with having something to use against him. For once.

"I know what you were hiding" she said not turning to face him, her crouched body still facing the opened balcony door. Inuyasha's eyes did a double take, open balcony door! She just turned her head barely, glancing at him through the corner of her eye, and he gulped imperceptibly –or at least he thought he was being subtle, that theory went down the drain when Kai's smirk widened.

Oh, no. His eyes widened in terror; his darkest secret was exposed…. Well, perhaps not his darkest, but it sure would ruin his reputation if the other guys found out, IF he wasn't expelled first. "Oh, yeah?" he asked, nervously scratching his head. _ Oh shit, he found her… _"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"So you mean _this_" she said showing him the puppy –who looked as happy as she had found it- and Inuyasha inwardly cringed "just came out of thin air, spontaneous generation, perhaps?" Kagome turned around to face him completely, a smug look adorning her face.

His chest constricted painfully as his heartbeat quickened, oh god, what the hell was happening to him? He'd never felt this flustered before, was this all because of the certain public humiliation he was about to face? "Uhh" He blinked, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. A plausible excuse would be great! "I don't know, would you believe me if I told you so?" he ended up asking meekly while shrugging. Inuyasha mentally scowled; was that actually the _best_ answer he could think of?

Kagome raised an eyebrow, answering curtly "No. Now, would you please tell me why is there a dog in your room –_our_ room?" she asked him curiously. It was her right to know, wasn't it? After all, they shared the room. Huh, and how come she hadn't opened the balcony door sooner, then?

"Keh, none of you business" he muttered, irritated over the fact that he had been busted so quickly.

"So, you just what? Found it?" Kagome asked incredulously as she dropped out of the crouching position to sit in the floor cross legged, tilting back against her bed, staring at him intently.

"Her. Found her, and yes I was on my way to enjoy a bowl of ramen at a place down the street two week ago when I found her." He told her defensively, still watching her carefully.

"I never took you for someone who would pick up stray dogs." Inuyasha decided to ignore that last comment. "Are we gonna keep her, then?"

"Well…" he started, trying to look indecisive. Of course he was going to keep her; that was the whole point of inconspicuously getting the little puppy into his room. Yes, HIS room. "I suppose we could." He said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Great, I've always wanted a puppy! But my dad was against the idea, so we had a cat instead, I used to take care of him, that obese ball of fur." She said smiling longingly while staring at the small puppy. _I really do miss him, I hope Souta is _really _taking care of him… poor Buyo._

Inuyasha flinched, hoping that he was misunderstanding the whole situation. The last thing he wanted to do was console a cat-lover. "Uh… so what happened to him?"

"What are you ta-" Kagome's eyes widened slightly "Hm?" _he's not dead, why am I talking in past tense?_ "I mean, we still have a cat. Buyo's still alive" She clarified, and Inuyasha quietly sighed. "Sorry, I'm still not used to the whole 'leaving the nest' thing." She muttered awkwardly, idly petting the puppy.

"Oh"

Great, another monosyllabic answer.

Why was she the one in charge of keeping the conversation going? She moved her eyes around the room, searching for something to say… or ask "How come no one has heard her yet?" she asked tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Easy. Every dormitory in this school has sound proof walls."

"Oh. I see, but what about the smell then?"

Inuyasha sighed, rolling his eyes "Can you not see this?" he pointed to his twitching ears, as if he was stating the obvious "People already call me dog-breath, dog-turd, flea bag," he glared at her pointedly "wan-chan, and… well; now I see this as one of the perks of being a half dog demon."

"What about me, won't that be suspicious?" Kagome asked, frowning lightly.

"You sleep with m- I mean, you share a room with me," he corrected himself shrugging and waving a hand dismissively, hopefully Kai hadn't heard that. "You can blame it on that. Besides, most of the guys here stink on a daily basis."

Ok, time to change the subject.

Kagome hummed, picking up the puppy and staring at her "What breed is she, anyway? I've never seen a dog so white and fluffy… and happy." she asked, eyes skeptically regarding the small dog in her hands. _Looks like an Akita or a Shiba inu… but then again, she's so white and furry and her ears-_ she suddenly looked up to Inuyasha's own ears, noticing the uncanny resemblance. She stifled a laugh as he got closer.

"A Samoyed, I'm still amazed at the fact that someone would abandon her" he muttered, crouching to pet her between the ears. A few second passed in silence, in which Inuyasha focused his attention on the dog instead of the guy squirming uncomfortably.

_This is so weird, I__'ve never felt THIS uncomfortable. _Kagome gulped at the sudden proximity, lowering her face to stare at the puppy instead. She had never been any good at close interaction, so she decided to break the silence; she bit her lower lip slightly as she pondered on what to say. "We should name her, right?" she finally said with forced enthusiasm.

_What! _"I found her, I should name her!" Inuyasha said narrowing his eyes.

"Please, you probably would pick a sucky, generic name like, I don't know, Yuki or Shiro or even Tsuki!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, you would pick something nerdy like Laika, Lassie, or… I dunno, Keiko… besides, those _were _good names!"

"Oh come on, everybody names their white dogs after something white" She whined, holding the puppy close to her protectively "–and I'm actually surprised you know who Laika is. Plus, Keiko was a whale, Inuyasha, not a puppy."

"A female one." He said through half lidded eyes, as if he needed no explanation.

Kagome shook her head, deciding to drop the subject. "I've never had a dog, let me pick the name please." She stopped and seemed to consider something for a moment before speaking again "I even promise not to tell anyone if you let me name her."

"Well, uhh" he said intelligently as he scratched his head, that was a reasonable deal; it was just a name, anyway "fine! I guess you could name her, but nothing stupid!"

Kagome grinned excitedly "Don't worry, I've got the perfect name." Inuyasha arched his eyebrows, silently urging her to continue, and she relaxed her lips into a pleasant smile. "Mochi"

He arched his eyebrows so high, they were now lost in his wild silver hair. "…Mochi? Are you kidding me?"

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows "What's wrong with it?"

"The meaning! Seriously, food? And not just any kind, it had to be 'rice cake.'?" He said dryly.

"I happen to like mochi it's sweet, and is rice! Everyone loves rice!" she said, gulping down a squeal when the little puppy wagged her tail enthusiastically while she licked her open palm. That would not be manly at all. "See? She likes it too!" she exclaimed, barely containing her happiness.

"Mochi" he said, trying the name. The puppy turned her head excitedly and ran toward him, her face frozen in a permanent smile. Inuyasha huffed in defeat, the puppy already answered to that name, anyway. "Fine, whatever. She can be called Mochi for all I care." He said dejectedly while petting the white dog in between her ears.

"Aww! Who's a nice puppy?" Kagome cooed, and even though the slightly sarcastic comment was directed towards Inuyasha –who scowled back at her-, mochi perked up and grinned ("_would you look at that, this dog can __**actually**__ grin!")_, running back to her.

"I hope you're good at keeping secrets." Inuyasha said, wanting to have the last word.

_Poor guy, he's got a dog and a girl in his room, he could easily get expelled. _ "Ah, don't worry" she said and Inuyasha noticed the weird smile on her face. "I promise I won't say a word about this." They remain in silence for a few minutes while Kagome happily played with Mochi's ears, too immersed in her thought to notice Inuyasha's constant fleeting glances.

"I" he started, but closed his mouth tightly once he realized he had nearly screamed the word. Kai looked up at him and he gulped. It had been almost five days, and if he wanted them –of course he didn't, this was just social etiquette- to be friends, he had to… he had to apologize. "I'm sorry –for the other day, I mean. I… I was wrong. I shouldn't have punched you." _Or threaten to punch you later…_

She looked up, _finally! _"Ah, don't worry about it. It's not that big of a deal" Kagome said smiling lightly at him. _At least he apologized, he can't be that bad. _

Inuyasha blinked twice. _That smile..._

That couldn't be a guy's smile, no one had ever smiled at him like that… well perhaps his mom, but he had blocked those memories away, no need to dwell on the past. What was wrong with that guy? He had ignored him, insulted him, and punched him, locked him out, all on the same day, yet he was smiling as if they were already friends.

_Huh? Wh-what the hell is this feeling...? _His eyes widened as he felt the bizarre reaction from his insides, his hand automatically going to his chest. _There must me something wrong with me… I seriously need to stop eating after training, it must've been that pork ramen, I knew I shouldn't have eaten those five cups. _He thought frowning deeply while nodding to himself.

"You ok, Taisho?" Kai asked him tentatively

Inuyasha shook his head and felt something warm unfold inside his chest. _ Fold again, fold again damnit! _ "Uhh yeah… Here." He said taking some notebooks from his desk and shoving them into her hands "You can borrow these as an apology for that punch, but I want them by tomorrow morning."

"Thanks," She said grinning "you're not that bad, after all." Kagome couldn't help but add playfully, which earned her a nervous chuckle. "Let's start over, ok?" she said sticking out her hand. "Hi, my name is Higurashi Kai, nice to meet you. I'm sixteen and I have a cat named Buyo" she said grinning amiably.

Inuyasha hesitated for a second, feeling rather foolish. Finally, he extended his arm to grip Kai's in a loose grip "Uh, hey… I'm Taisho Inuyasha, seventeen… and I have a dog named Mochi"

"Waa, you're seventeen already?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm older than you. Grow up. When is your birthday anyhow, January?" he asked mokingly.

"September" Kagome grunted crossing her arms around her chest "Anyway, at what time are you waking up tomorrow?" she said, conspicuously changing the topic. That stupid dog just wanted to brag.

Inuyasha squinted, trying to remember at what time Myoga had told him to be ready. Oh right, nine. "Seven, eight maybe, why?" he said narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Wake me up, will you?" she asked, deliberately ignoring his question.

Inuyasha furrowed his eyebrows even more. "Why?" he repeated his unanswered question.

"I have a date" she said dismissively, while moving to her desk with his notebook.

"A-a date! With who?" he sputtered, horrified. Kagome rolled her eyes at his over-dramatic response. Perhaps he felt his manliness being jeopardized. Oh, the horror, a guy younger than him had successfully gotten a girl (or girls) to go out with him. Guys.

"I'm going out tomorrow with some girls, actually, and I need to get up early to get ready." She articulated every word slowly and as clear as she could, enjoying the fact that he looked utterly shocked. It was fun to see how his eyes were like an open book, sometimes.

"Wha-? See, Miroku must be rubbing on you. I should've told you he was a bad influence. This is all my fault."

"Suck it up, wan-chan. Is not as if I'm going to a brothel or anything." She joked, raising a mocking eyebrow.

"Wha- what!"

*-*.*-*.*-*

She was finally there, that dreaded place. Kagome took a deep breath and lift her eyes, immediately resting on her cousin and what she assume were her friends, all gathered together in front of a little store with a neon sign that read: The Dessert Factory. Next to it was an old drugstore, and on the other side of the store was an arcade. "I have the feeling I'm not gonna like this…" she muttered to herself as she got closer to get a good look of the girls. She'd never hung up with so many girls before and now was starting to feel a bit nervous. _Wow… that's a big group of girls _Kagome thought, silently observing from a distance the group of ten girls chatting between each other happily. Unconsciously, she let out a sad sigh. Sometimes she wonder what would it be like to be as outgoing as Rin was, or as gregarious as Miroku. Both of them did have outstanding people skills. So consumed in her thoughts she was, that didn't notice the petite dark haired girl looking her way.

"Ka…. Kai!" God, when was Rin going to stop making the same mistake, Kagome thought grimacing as she reluctantly headed over to her cousin and her group of friends most of which were staring at her curiously and –eww a couple of them were even checking her out, if those roaming eyes were what she thought they were.

"Hey" she said awkwardly once she was within earshot distance.

"It's good to know you could make it Kai" Rin said grinning cheerfully as she hugged her. Kagome winced slightly when Rin brushed her injury, and probably she heard her because her grip on her loosened noticeably. Once she let her go, she took notice of her bandaged arm and heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes. "Got into another fight? All that testosterone is affecting your once uncorrupted soul. You're turning into a ruffian!"

"Rin, please." Kagome muttered, not knowing whether to be embarrassed or laugh at her cousin's wild imagination. "It was just P.E –and I'm not corrupted or a ruffian, Rin… so don't go telling my dad, ok?" She added, flicking her wrist in irritation. "The last thing I need right now is him calling me everyday to check on me-"

"That reminds me, you're coming over after this, right? I asked my mom to prepare oden; it was your favorite, wasn't it?"

"It still is" she said smiling lightly. This was one of the reasons why she loved her cousin like a sister –she'd never tell her, though-, even if she was clumsy, a blabber mouth, and well… Rin, she was always looking after the ones she loved and was a loyal person –when she wanted to be, that is. "And, yes, I'll go as long as you keep your mouth shut, you hear me?"

"Can't make any promises." She said while inspecting her fingernails, they sure had gotten a bit dirty on the way over, plus, it looked like she was actually pondering the subject.

Kagome rolled her eyes, she knew Rin was probably bluffing, but it was certainly wiser to be in her good books. "I'll even buy your silence, if it's necessary" she added inconspicuously.

"Fine, we'll discuss the price later" she said with an air of self-importance, waving the issue off. "Now that we're done discussing the horrible shift in your behavior, you young la… lad, I'll introduce you to my friends-" Before she had the chance to start with the introductions, the brunette standing next to Rin took a step forward and grinned affably.

"Hey, nice to see you again." she said grinning at her. She looked different, well for starters, she wasn´t wearing any sort of uniform. She was simply clad in black jeans, a dark red shirt with a black boomerang logo, and a pair of red converse. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail and her eyes had a bit of magenta eye shadow.

Kagome smiled politely and search her memory for a few seconds. Curses, she had her name on the tip of her tongue, what was it? _… Sen… Senta? No. So…Songo, Songo. Sango! _"Oh, hi. Sango right?" she uttered as quickly as she could, hopefully Sango wouldn't notice.

Sango stared at her with a dubious smile "Yeah, how do you know?" she said staring at him, in search for any trace that would identify him as a stalker. His clothes were nerdy enough; he was wearing a cream colored sweater vest, a short sleeve bottom up blue shirt, and dark blue jeans. His shoes… Sango frowned slightly, why on earth would he be wearing HI-TEC shoes? This was no hiking, and more importantly, _he_ didn't seem like the hiking type.

Kagome paled considerably _Oh, that's right; we haven't officially met yet… crap. _"Rin has talk about you a few times, she's… she's my cousin." She said clumsily, staring at her shoes.

That… didn't make much sense. Sango tilted her head, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Really?" she asked skeptically "Up until now the only male cousin she has ever mentioned is Souta" Sango stared at Rin accusingly. Clearly the fact that she hadn't confided in her such an important bit of information had their friendship hanging from a thread. Kagome's eyebrow rose slowly.

"I-I was abroad!" Kagome suddenly yelped, hurrying to Rin's defense. "For a few years, actually… and when I came back my family moved to Kyoto. We just recently got back in contact, so please don't blame her." Both girls stared at her in bewilderment and then turned to face each other raising their eyebrow while mouthing –at the same time, how could they do that?- 'where did _that_ come from?'. Kagome's cheeks tinted slightly red. Perhaps… perhaps she had misunderstood Sango's body language.

Her mind clouded with a hundred excuses, but none of them seemed to find its way to her mouth. Besides… that was an honest mistake! "I just- I thought that y-"

"Jakotsu! Over here!" the two girls cease their glances of bewilderment in order to stare at the new comer, and Kagome let out a breath she was holding. Who would've known? Saved by Jakotsu.

Said boy (?) grinned while walking to them "Girls, how nice to see you all here. I was actually on my way to a shirtless Inu-chan, but I guess that can wait… a few second, at most." He said, raising one of his eyebrows suggestively. "I'm sure you girls won't mind me tagging along"

"Not at all! Maybe we can do some 'sight-seeing together" one of the girls said a little too quickly, while most of them nodded effusively, while others giggled giddily. Sango, Rin, Souten and another girl she didn't know were the only ones not giggling over her roommate, and seeing as she wasn't either, she moved closer to Rin again.

Jakotsu grinned, greeting all of the girls with a friendly hug and waved cheerfully at her. Wow, he was even perkier outside of school "Ah, Jakotsu-san, wasn't it?" she said, bowing politely; it was the first time they'd met out of school and she felt slightly awkward. "How are you doing?" she extended her arm intending to shake his respectfully, but Jakotsu merely laughed.

"Oh, aren't you a polite little cutie. Call me Jakie." Jakotsu said with a wink, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and some of the girls squealed; surely a few yaoi fantasies were fulfilled...

Kagome smiled nervously, her lips twitching ever so slightly "Ha… I'll try." She muttered while trying to shrug his arm off, yet Jakotsu's grip was relentless.

Rin cocked her head, staring at them curiously "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, we're in the same class" Kagome replied silently, feeling out of place –and still trying to shake Jakotsu's arm off.

"Yes, you should have seen how my inu-chan defended him on his first day!"

"You don't say" Rin said smiling a little, but her eyes were dancing with… well, something Kagome didn't like at all.

"Yes, I think that's because you look all frail, and in need of help" he said squeezing her harder.

"Wow he's right, you could pass as an underdressed girl!" Souten, one of the girls, said raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"…W-What?" she squealed horrified, she was hating this even more with each passing second.

"Yes, yes, but only if you squint" added Sango helpfully. Seeing her horror-struck expression, Sango patted her encouragingly on the shoulder "Don't be so shocked, it's really nice to see a guy with delicate features."

Jakotsu nodded too, "It is, though to tell you guys the truth, at first I didn't know if you were, like, gal or guy –I mean, your face is absolutely gorgeous!-, but then I saw the brand of your jeans and I totally knew you were a guy. Well, that and the fact that Sengoku Gakuen is an all-boys school." Most of the girls nodded in agreement.

_Ha… what kind of friends does Rin have?_

"Uh, thanks… I guess." Well, this conversation was getting weirder and weirder… anything else?

"Fancy meeting you here, ladies."

_I just had to say that. __This day is full of surprises… _Kagome turned to the familiar voices, and found the ever expressive Shippo and Miroku, who had both of his hands covered, the right one with his customary purple glove while his left one was clumsily wrapped in white gauze. Shippo send her a wave along with a 'Hey, Kai' before turning to search for his dark haired friend, once he had located her, he sent Miroku a wave and slipped away.

"Don't you have _anything_ better to do?"

"Sango, that wounds me, this was just a mere coincidence I assure you."

Sango snorted, turning to regard him for the first time "Yeah ri- what the hell happened to you?" Kagome opened her mouth to praise him, but Miroku shook his head briefly, unnoticed by the rest.

"Oh, this?" he said, cheerfully raising his wounded arm and pointing to his black eye. "This is the result of a rather vicious P.E lesson. I'm fine, my dear Sango, don't you worry"

"W-who said anything about being worried! I just asked what the hell happened! Stop twisting my words, Hoshi." Sango exclaimed, red with what seemed like indignation.

"Oh, Kai" Rin blurted, effectively changing the topic "I haven't introduced the rest of the gang, come here!" not waiting for an answer, she grabbed her cousin by the –wounded- arm and dragged her away.

"Ouch, come on Rin, let go, that's my injured arm!" Kagome cried, trying to free her arm, but Rin only held tighter, nonchalantly giving her the peace sign with her free hand. Kagome rolled her eyes, but winced, shutting her eyes tightly when Rin squeezed her.

"Don't be a baby, suck it up!" Rin grinned back at her while Kagome sneered mockingly. Once they were in the middle of a crown of girls, she let go, and Kagome immediately cradled her arm tenderly, taking one cautious step away from Rin. "Well," her cousin started, oblivious to her previous action. She pointed at the closest girl "This one here is Momiji, she a first year as well as Botan here. They are sisters, if you were wondering" She said, pointing at a brown haired girl, and then to a black haired one. Momiji, the brunette was wearing a light red shirt with a white skirt while her sister was wearing a blue botton up blouse with white bermudas shorts. They both waved back at her while smiling in a friendly manner.

"This one here is Souten" Rin hugged the little girl around the shoulders "she's still in middle school, so she's the youngest one here. Please take care of her!"

"Stop saying that to everyone I meet, it's embarrassing!" she said through clenched teeth, her cheeks slightly tinted red. She then turned to Kagome and offered her an apologetic smile "Hi, sorry 'bout that. I know you from somewhere, right?"

"Yeah, the other day at The Coffee House, you're very talented by the way" she said smiling politely. Souten's cheeks tinted pink as she waved her hand casually, simply muttering "It's nothing, really"

"Stop rubbing her ego, she's the gloating time" her cousin whispered rather loudly, grinning as Souten spluttered indignantly, her cheeks turning rosy again. "Well, moving onto a more humble person," she said placing a hand on pretty dark haired girl, as Souten could still be heard in the background whining. The girl nodded politely, her straight hair cascading on both sides of her face. Kagome noticed she was dressed in a grey vest, a nice white blouse and a discreet plaid skirt. "this girl here is Kikyo, and as Miroku, she's in third ye –wow, you two look identical. If you weren't my cousin I would say you two are twins or siblings at least!" Rin sputtered, gapping from one girl to the other.

"…Eh?" was Kagome's _very_ eloquent reply. They weren't remotely similar! For starters, this girl was really pretty, and well, her hair was perfect, not to mention she had a nice girly aura that she horribly lacked. Besides, the eye color! This girl had grey eyes while she had a plain tone of blue. Yeah, they were nothing alike, at least physiologically speaking… though it didn't look like her personality resembled Kagome's either…

"Whoa, she's right! How come we didn't notice that before?" said Momiji –or Botan, she couldn't really tell- and her sister nodded vigorously, her jaw still slightly ajar.

"Um, well, hi then." She said, waving awkwardly, deliberately ignoring the whispers all around them.

"Nice to meet you, I hope we can get along." Kikyo replied smoothly with a petite smile on her face.

"Y-yeah, me too." Kagome nodded again –just for the sake of _doing_ something.

"Any way, you two can get to know each other later. You four, stop gossiping and come here!" she said to a group girls standing a few feet behind her. They quickly moved to stand in front of Rin and Kagome, three of them grinning in enthusiasm while the last one merely yawned. "these girls here are Yuka," she waved in the general direction of the only brunette out of the four girls, "Eri" the girl had an easily recognizable yellow… what was it? A diadem? A tiara? Well, whatever, if she wore that thing she could recognize her, Rin continued, oblivious of her musings "Ayumi" she said, pointing at the only girl with curly hair. She smiled kindly and Kagome returned the greeting along with a wave "and Satsuna, all second year students like Sango" she finished, while the last girl waved half-heartedly. Kagome pursed her lips into an awkward smile and tilted her head, noticing something rather interesting, all of them had short hair. They were dressed with light colors and, with either a summer dress or a skirt. Rin… did have a great variety of friends.

"Can we get in please, I'm starving and I'm in the mood for some brownie with mint ice cream and extra whipped cream." whined Souten once the introductions were over. She nearly rolled her eyes when Jakotsu threw a dramatic sigh, clearly expressing his disagreement. He would prefer to wait outside for his current obsession to appear, of course.

"Forgot the cherry on top, didn't you?" Jakotsu sneered mockingly, though Souten didn't take his action to heart, and simply exhale through her nose, pointedly looking away –in the general direction of the food. "We could stay out here a lil' bit longer and just… chat"

"What! No, I'm hungry!"

"Suck it up, don't be a baby-"

"I'm NOT a baby! Just because I'm the youngest one, it doesn't mean I'm-"

"That's not what I meant!" Jakotsu cried rolling his eyes.

Sango glanced from Souten's famished appearance to Jakotsu's slightly annoyed pout, and mentally sighed. Time to be the voice of reason… "Right, right, you two. Souten's right, I'm a bit hungry myself, actually. Oh and look, Jakotsu" she said swiftly as she nodded at the few tables outside the eating place "we can even sit in one of these outside tables and, you know, admire the magnificent work Mother Nature has done." She finished, shrugging nonchalantly. Both parties looked up, staring first at Sango and then at each other for a few seconds in scrutiny. Almost simultaneously the pair nodded, ill feelings forgotten, and grinned in agreement. Problem solved. Sango smiled, pleased with the outcome, sometimes it was just so easy to solve mundane squabble merely by uttering the right words. She grinned to herself; just the right words. It was such a shame not everybody could live through that particular mental attitude, so many petty arguments could be avoided. Of course, that didn't apply to her bizarre relationship with certain "charismatic" guy.

The brunette blinked her way back into the outside world once she heard a scoff. "Please Jakotsu, you just want to droll after that stupid half-breed" grunted one of the girls (_Sakana, was it?_) and Kagome frowned slightly, action that didn't go unnoticed by Miroku. Sango dropped her shoulders slightly and sighed heavily. Ah, all her work at maintaining the peace had gone to waste. Rin, who was right beside her, bumped her shoulder sympathetically, taking the proverbial baton.

Kagome shook her head slowly in disappointment, with society in general. Most of the girls that looked insulted only felt that way because it was their crush being badmouthed, but they surely wouldn't act the same way if Jinenji –a nice, gentle and bullied hanyou she had met a few days prior in the library while she avoided her roommate- had been the one being victimized. _Even now people still discriminate hanyou(s). First Hojo and now this Sakana girl, no wonder wan-chan's s so… _Kagome frowned, searching for the perfect word, her eyes drifting to study the ceiling,_ bitter –that and the fact that he _is _an anal retentive, passive aggressive jerk with anger management issues, of course. _She almost nodded to herself in agreement, but haltered, mentally smacking herself. If she nodded they would think she was agreeing with Sakana or something along those lines.

"Satsuna! That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Rin reprimanded, as most of the girls –and Jakotsu- looked flabbergasted, although this wasn't the first time Satsuna would make rude comments about Inuyasha or other demons. Shippo raised his eyebrows in surprise –and tried to make himself as small and invisible as he could, least he wanted one of those comments thrown his way too- and Miroku simply stared at Kai, who'd look almost impassive if it weren't for that little frown on her face. He saw her make a few faces a cocked his head pensively, squinting his eyes as if trying to read her; what was really on her mind?

Said girl nodded solemnly, agreeing with her cousin _Yes, it was indeed._ She thought, unaware of Miroku's actions.

"Might as well be, but I'm not lying, he _is_ a half-breed." She muttered staring at the floor stubbornly.

_That's not a passport to treat him with disdain, you know…_

"Inuyasha is actually a decent person once you get past his attitude issue. You don't have to judge him based on something so shallow. I know you have some issues with demons since your grandfather's passing, but not all demons are rampaging idiot or cold-blooded murderers, you need to come into terms with that, Satsuna." Sango stated, her voice announcing the end of the argument. Satsuna, now feeling embarrassed, simply nodded, muttering an honest apology, her eyes fixed on the floor. Sango sighed, managing a half smile. "Just be careful with what you say, Satsuna, he's our friend too. Now," she said, her tone suddenly light and amiable once again "Souten and I are hungry" she proclaimed, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders "so, if you don't mind..." she nodded toward the store conspicuously and grinned at Souten, both already walking quickly to the entrance.

Kagome grinned too, feeling her chest swelling with pride and esteem, she really hoped one day she could be good friends with Sango. Still grinning she glanced over at Miroku and he was staring after Sango with a dreamy look on his face. Shippo snickered and slapped the back of his head muttering a mocking "Snap out of it already, Hoshi, she's too good for your questionable ways". Miroku shook his head and, after coming to term with what he had been doing, grinned apologetically a hand rising to scratch the back of his neck self-consciously.

Kagome laughed openly while Shippo and the now composed Miroku stared at her in awe; it was the first time they had seen "Kai" genuinely happy (and it not being induced by a caffeine over-dose), and that brought a slowly creeping smile to their faces, somehow her laugh was contagious. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up" Miroku threw half-heartedly, still perplexed. Even dressed as a boy and "acting" as one, her laugh was absolutely enchanting; he realized that, behind that mask, she was still a girl after all. An unusual girl with a really complex life, but a girl after all.

Kagome's eyes danced with mirth as her laugh slowly faded. "Oh, I hadn't laughed this much in ages. You guys are so fun" she said honestly, unaware of their stares or the things that were now going through their minds. _Perhaps there is still a chance for us to be real friends…_

"It's nice to know you find my discomfort entertaining" Miroku said grinning, both ignoring Shippo's still baffled state. The dark haired boy discreetly bumped Shippo's foot with his own, effectively snapping the boy from his trance. He laughed loudly and blurted a quick "You're right Kai, it IS fun to laugh at Miroku's misery!" he busted into that obnoxiously loud laugh once again, his eyes glinting with a peculiar glint.

"Aren't you guys coming?" Rin asked from the door, only her head showing. A mild trace of annoyance in her face, but her eyes merely stared questioningly at the trio.

"Coming!" the three of them said grinning, all from different reasons.

*.*-*.*-*

They had finally gotten their treats and now, after organizing themselves in three different tables, they moved them close enough to hold a conversation; Kagome had chosen a seat in one of the corners and had a full view of the other thirteen occupants and the street. Along with her Sango, Rin, and two dark haired girls were in her table. She was so absorbed in her food, tuning out most of the conversations around her 'who was dating who or who broke who's heart', 'Takeda almost died in yesterday's dorama! A real tearjerker', 'Sango dear, do you mind if I move to seat besi-'(well that one was never finished), 'Where did you buy those- blah, blah, blah'. Who cared about that when you could enjoy this! She ignored them once again to take another spoonful and nearly squeal, this thing was absolutely –god, Souten was right when she drooled all over this!

"Goodie! He's finally here!" Jakotsu grinned with barely suppressed excitement. Kagome reluctantly looked up from her delicious treat; yeah, once she'd seen Souten's brownie with mint ice cream and extra whipped cream… she'd promised herself she wouldn't ever fall into temptation, but she was only human, and now a very similar brownie lay in front of her. They had barely started eaten when Jakotsu squealed in delight, thirteen pairs of eyes raised grudgingly to see what all the commotion was. Almost out of sight she could make out a mass of silver hair in a messy ponytail, and sweat dropped, yeah that was wan-chan alright. He was clad in some horrible brown jumper, using the sleeves as an improvised belt around his hips and a white tank top. He had a huge black garbage bag in his left hand and some kind of trash-picking devise on his right one. _Oh, and let's not forget about his trademark scowl on his face._

"Wa-" it was an unconscious act, really, being so used to only calling him wan-chan, and the name was in her mouth before she could actually process the thought, just why had she been about to say his name? Nick-name, whatever. Inuyasha threw her a piercing look and she haltered, quickly rephrasing her prior comment "what is he doing?" she hesitantly asked, still staring at him with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, could he really hear her? He was at least a couple dozen meters (around 22 yards) away… _well, he does have those awesome dog ears_ "I thought he was in detention." He turned to grab more garbage with a funny looking stick and threw it into the bag mechanically, yet she noticed how one of his ears remained turned in their general direction.

"This IS weekend detention; usually it means helping around the school and neighborhood doing community service; you know, picking trash, helping in the cafeteria, tutoring dumb kids, all those bothering tasks nobody wants to do. It is 'supposed' to be Sengoku Gakuen's way to contribute to society, but we know is just a way to torture us with public humiliation." Miroku answered helpfully from the table next to her, while Shippo nodded sagely from beside him, stretching on his seat so she could see him.

Her hand moved to stroke her chin pensively "I see" _I better stay on my best behavior then…_

"Have you ever been in detention?" one of the short haired girls asked expectantly, the remaining stared at Kai intently. _Well, that one came out of nowhere, and do I really look like a guy who's ever been in detention? Girl, I meant girl… this is getting way out of hand._

"Uh, no." she answered, a little uncomfortable with sudden the attention she was getting. Weren't the just speaking about Inuyasha just now?

The brown, short haired girl –Eri, was it? yeah she was pretty sure of this one, so the other must have been Yuka- lifted her chin proudly "Inuyasha has, quite a few times actually, his bad boy persona is absolutely dreamy, not to mention he has the most adorable smile." Oh_, so this is where this was going…_

Kagome hummed thoughtfully, taking another spoonful of brownie and mint ice cream "…Have you ever seen him smiling?"

"well... no, but I bet he has!"

"Yeah, I bet he does" Kagome said dismissively, already bored with the topic at hand. Why were girls always speaking about "cute guys this, and cute guys that"? She sighed unenthusiastically, something the girl next to her didn't miss. She took a big bite of her treat, almost unable to chew it and her eyes drifted to her roommate's mechanical actions, _how more boring could that get?_ She thought, slowly chewing, making sure to enjoy the delightful combination between chocolate and mint… and melted traces of whipped cream.

"He's cute, don't you think?" Kagome heard the girl –Kyoko if she wasn't mistaken- asked; and even though her eyes were glued to Inuyasha, her head was directed in Kagome's direction. _Eh? _She almost spat, barely avoiding leaving Rin's face full of brown and green spots. Was that question really directed at her?

"Kikyo!" _oh, so that was her name! Yeah, she was the one who –in Rin's opinion- looked like her._ "That's not something you should ask a guy." Sango said, staring at her expectantly nevertheless. Traitor. What, were they actually waiting for a reply?

… Apparently, yes. Feeling helpless, she quickly looked at Miroku, who merely shrugged and mouthed 'improvise' at her. Great.

"Uh, right. Well, I don't know how to answer that." She moved her eyes to where the hanyou stood unnaturally still. He was as good looking as all the other guys –with some exceptions, like Manten and a few other demons- , so what was the big deal? Being good looking didn't mean you had to like him, there were other factors that had to be taken into account. "He's quite cute-" she noticed one of his ears flicker; oh, so he _was_ eavesdropping? "…for a mongrel, that is." She finished, grinning slightly when his shovel or whatever he was carrying fell out of his hands. He could be really funny when he didn't want to.

Perhaps, she had thought her answer rationally, because some of the girls were staring at her with an unreadable glint in their eyes.

Some of the girls gasped, one of them being brave enough to ask "Kai, could it be that you…?"

"Hm?" she muttered taking another spoonful.

"That you're one of those guys… who can't… who can't love women?" asked Kikyo, blushing slightly.

_Can't… love women? _

Kagome tilted her head "Huh?" she said at the same time Miroku and Rin tried to stifle a laugh –snorting loudly, how tactless-, while Shippo's eyes widened drastically.

_Are they trying to ask if_-

"She's trying to ask if you're gay." One of them, she wasn't really sure who, added 'helpfully'. Wait, that face... oh right, Satsuna, that face she could remember.

Kagome's expression morphed into one of sheer mortification. _Oh sweet, merciful Buddha…They are._

Oh! Then how should she answer? She'd seen a few girls winking at her, and she didn't know if she should be amused, maybe even flattered, or freaked out by that. But if she said she was gay, then there was Jakotsu… she sighed, looking absolutely miserable; better be on the safe side then. "I –uh, I'm a bit confused right now. I –er, I've never experienced love, so I'm… I'm still not sure. You know… like when you are about to taste ice cream for the first time. You don't know if you'll like vanilla or strawberry… not until you taste it, right?" she stuttered, felling utterly foolish as she scratched the back of her neck thoughtfully while Miroku stared at her in fascination and the girls –and Jakotsu- with a glint in their eyes that left her feeling apprehension.

"Oh, quit gawking you two!" she said in irritation to Rin and Shippo, who kept opening and closing their mouths.

*-*.*-*.*-*

A few hours later and the whole business had been forgotten, thanks to Yuka, Eri, Ayumi and their amazing gossipy powers, now most of them were absorbed in a heated debating about who was hotter, Hojo and his intellectual looks or Koga's badass persona, or even better: Inuyasha and his careless appearance. Oh wow, the debate of the century… Kagome's eyes wandered to her two male companions, both of them engrossed in what looked like a card game, were they playing poker? More importantly, where had they gotten playing cards? She was about to stand up and join them when she noticed Kikyo, who was seating next to her froze, as well as the short haired trio held their breaths.

"Oh, he's coming over, he's coming over, what should we do?" Kagome hear one of the girls squealing and didn't have to look back to know they were referring to her dog eared roommate. She rolled her eyes and got to her feet anyway as she faintly heard Inuyasha yell "Oi Sango, I need to talk to you. I got a call from my old man, he wants me to ask you something, come 'ere!"

"You lazy ass, _you _come here!" she yelled, standing up nevertheless. They kept their petty argument going for a few seconds before she tuned them out.

"I'm, uh, gonna get something to drink." she announced nodding towards a curve that led to some vending machines she'd seen on her way here. That city sure was full of vending machines.

"Why don't you just order something?" asked Kikyo –she was finally starting to get her name right!- raising her eyebrows.

"They don't have iced green tea, and I'm in the mood for some"

"But they have iced tea."

"Not the same. Besides," she said stretching her arms as high as she could, a few joints popped and she smiled lazily. "I need to stretch my limbs."

"I'll go with you" Miroku said quickly, earning a few surprised looks from the majority of the female population, including the slightly distraught Sango, while Shippo –for some reason- stared at Kai intently. He stood up, taking his poker hand with him, "No cheating" he warned Shippo, but the boy merely grunted, his eyes fixed on his cards once more.

"God, I'm tired!" she exclaimed once they were far enough. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths trying to relax her body; a task nearly impossible, seeing as Miroku was making weird sound between snorts and giggles (_how is that even possible?_) "We've been here for hours! Aren't they tired?" being met with silence was not something Kagome anticipated so she opened her eyes once again to glance at Miroku, who looked ready to burst. She sighed, good thing they had found the vending machine quickly, and so, had a few minutes to kill. She decided to wait until she had her drink safely in her hands before she said the words that would make Miroku release all the crap he had to say. She quickly introduced her hand in her pocket, grabbing a few coins and inserting them into the slot in the vending machine, Kagome pressed the button labeled 'Iced Green Tea' and crouched to grab the bottle. Well, she'd made him wait long enough.

"You only came along to torture me, didn't you?" she turned her head in time to see the expected giddy nod, she rolled her eyes, preparing herself.

"You're very popular with the chicks, huh?" Miroku said grinning wolfishly, his eyes barely containing all the amusement he found in the subject. "I bet you're more popular with them as a guy. Ha, you're truly a genius! You little Casanova, and how about that little comment back there? That was pure gold! Man, you have them involuntarily eating from your palm. I forgot how girls like sensitive, insecure guys –you know, there is just something about people who are 'unattainable forbidden fruits' that makes people really want them! I can't believe I realized this from you, you're a genius!" he exclaimed, elbowing her slightly, while his other hand rose to slap his forehead. "I need to make a mental note, maybe I can use it later with Sango." He muttered to himself quietly, yet loud enough for Kagome to listen.

Kagome took a gulp of tea and then closed the lid before commenting lightly. "Miroku, why are you telling me this? You, of all people, should know that this outcome was _completely_ unintentional; I didn't want them to think like that. I'm not… _exactly_ like you, remember?" Miroku laughed, shaking his head as he shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you're not a real bo-" Miroku suddenly froze, his jaw clenching tightly as his eyes faintly widened. Feeling a little wary, Kagome furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes slowly moving to where Miroku was silently staring.

Her bottle of green tea slipped from her hand, loudly hitting the floor, while her pupils contracted and her lips parted as she exhaled dejectedly.

_No. No no no…Oh god, not again! _ Kagome groaned mentally, her left eye slightly twitching, as she saw the person in front of her gap.

*-*.*-*.*-*

Ah, a mystery person! I wonder if he/she discovered Kagome's secret…

Barely finished a few minutes ago, I'll read it more carefully later… it's almost 3 am here so, I'm gonna get some rest. Happy weekend everyone.

*bye bye cycle: nerdy greeting they use as a joke in Nobuta wo produce, a dorama I saw recently, as a good bye.

By the way, Laika was the first dog in space, a female dog.

Here's a Samoyed:

www. dogbreedsaz. com/ samoyed. html (take off the spaces)

Hope you all liked this chapter; it's my longest chapter ever! (more than 11k words) So any doubts, grammar mistakes or anything, you know what to do. Oh, I almost forgot I only have like two weeks left of vacation and then 5 months of excruciating hell… so I can't promise anything, sorry. T.T I'll try my best, but I have a tiny writer's block.


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